Requiem
by SS Purple
Summary: Set 10 years before the events of RWBY, this FanFic tells an original story of two teams within the RWBY universe.
1. Chapter 1

Ignoring the few persistent and wispy clouds, the sky was perfectly clear and all of the students who glanced upward while boarding the large metal aircraft felt a sense of comfort. It was one of those days, the shattered moon still perfectly visible, that brought with it a feeling that nothing could go ary. A gentle breeze rustling their hair and clothes only strengthened the almost otherworldly presence of benevolence. As the straggling students cleared the doorway a man in uniform the entire airfield, "Final call for Beacon Academy!" Within minutes the doors were sealed and the ship took flight.

A young man in a long burgundy coat leaned against the wall of the airship tapping his foot rapidly and muttering to himself. He looked down in an attempt to avoid meeting the gaze of any of the other passengers, even though they were soon to be classmates. His plan to be nearly invisible for the flight was foiled by a young woman walking into him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She laughed at her own clumsiness. Holding out her hand she introduced herself, "I'm Riliane by the way."

"It's alright, Riliane." He shook her hand and then gestured at the window, "I'm guessing you were just distracted by the view? It is always impressive."

"I've never really cared about views all that much actually," She chuckled as if there was something the young man didn't know. "Though shouldn't you tell me your name now?"

"You uh… don't recognise me?"

"I can't recognise anyone," Another chuckle.

"What? But then- Oh!" It finally clicked for him. The young blonde was blind. "I'm so sorry- I-I didn't realise-"

"It's fine, it's fine," Riliane assured him with a bright smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course."

"Er, right then… Well I'm Xanthic Picto."

"As in The Picto Corporation?"

"That's right. Though, wait a minute, are you by chance Riliane _Avadona_?"

"Yeah! What can you read minds or something?"

"Nono, nothing like that. I'm glad I can't actually. It was three years back, I think, I met your mother while we were doing some business in Vale. Her and my mother actually talked about trying to develop a scroll with an interface more suitable for people with… visual impairments."

"You can say _blind_ ," Riliane was far more blunt in this statement than before.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." He wanted to point out that he was also referring to people with green color blindness and photosensitivity but decided not to push the matter.

"Don't worry about it," Riliane returned to her cheery smile.

"Right, well I was thinking about heading to the observation deck, would you care to join me?"

"Oh no, I was actually just looking for the bathroom when I bumped into you. Think you could point me in the right direction?"

"Of course, on this model… There should be a short flight of stairs at the end of this corridor, then go to your right."

"Thanks, see you around Xan~" She waved goodbye and stumbled a bit as she followed Xanthic's directions.

"Good bye…" Xanthic turned the other way to go to the all glass room. As he opened the door a young girl with red eyes stood reaching out to where the handle used to be. "Oh, pardon me miss." He stood to the side and held the door open.

"What a gentleman, thanks~" She giggled and almost skipped away.

Xanthic couldn't tell if she was sincerely that innocent or just trying to mock him in some way. Shrugging it off he continued into the room. The glass panels allowed an unobstructed view of the world passing by. With a gentle sigh Xanthic leaned against the railing and mumbled to himself, "I wish I took mom's offer to take our ship…"

* * *

The sound of the airship taking off could be heard all around her. Celeste sat with her head resting on the wall behind her, enjoying the serenity of being alone. She began thinking about the next four years to come when she was disturbed by the rustling sound of moving clothes. Opening her eyes, she was meet with a pair of copper colored eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked. The eyes moved back to reveal a young man, with shaggy black hair. He had some cybernetic parts to . "Could make him a good fighter," Celeste thought.

"Sorry, I was looking at your scar." Owen responded. Celeste drew her hand up to touch it.

"Why?"

"I thought it looked cool. How did it happen?" Celeste stared at him for a moment, then she began remembering the attack.

"Oh, I'm sorry that happened to you." Owen said.

"What?" Celeste asked, unsure of what the Faunus was talking about.

"You were attacked by beowolves, right?" Grabbing his collar, Celeste swung him around and pinned him to the wall, Ferrum Glacies pointed at his face. "How do you know that?" she asked, threateningly.

"You were thinking it. My semblance allows me to reads others minds." Owen quickly replied.

"What? Stay out of my head." Celeste said as she threw him to the ground. As he was getting up he noticed Celeste walking away, and sitting on the other side of the airship.

"Touchy." Owen said, getting back into his seat.

* * *

When Dart caught a glimpse of a free seat, his eyes widened slightly and he quickened his pace down the aisle. "Finally," He muttered beneath his breath, letting his bag sag down his shoulder as he began to sit down. Before he could do so, a girl his age with blonde spiky hair sat in the seat in front of him. Dart stared at her silently, blinking. The girl's burning crimson eyes flicked upwards towards him.

"Oh! Hello!" She said happily. "Did you need something?" Dart cleared his throat, doing his best to be polite.

"Well yes, actually that's," Dart stopped and scratched his head. The girl tilted her head and smiled expectantly. "I was going to sit there." He finished sheepishly.

"Oh!" The girl finished. The two were silent as the voices around them seemed to grow louder. "Sorry about that." The girl said laughing uneasily. Dart bit his lip and looked around. All the seats were full, several other students had taken to leaning against the wall.

"Damn." Dart muttered.

"Pardon me." A female voice next to him said quickly. Dart stepped back, allowing a girl with silver hair and green eyes to squeeze through the seats and walk down the aisle.

"Oh hey! Free seat." The girl said, gesturing to the spot the girl had left.

"She's not coming back?" Dart asked.

"She took her stuff, so I don't think so. Lucky you!" She responded with a grin.

Dart nodded and sat in the seat the girl had left. It was near the window, allowing him to get a glimpse of the cliffs and the cobalt sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?" The girl said, leaning forward so she could see.

"Yeah." Dart responded, taking in the sparkling water and the puffy clouds.

"I recommend going out to the observation deck, I was just there. The view is even nicer!~"

"I'll think about it." Dart responded, thinking for a bit. He faced the girl and held out his hand. "The name's Dart." He said with a smile. The girl took his hand and smiled in return.

"I'm Olive!" She said. "Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise." Dart responded. "What brings you to Beacon?"

"Well, my sister went to Shade Academy, it was only natural that I would apply to Beacon!" Olive replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "You?"

"To get stronger, see more of the world." Dart responded. The two were silent, not quite knowing what to say. Olive's knee jumped up and down, as if she was bursting with excitement.

"What do you think initiation this year will be?" Olive asked. Dart hesitated.

"Couldn't tell you." He responded. "What do you think?" Olive leaned back, looking away from the view.

"There've been rumors that this year's initiation will be more different and challenging than the others!" She said hopefully. Dart chuckled, putting his hands behind his head to yawn.

"They say that every year."

"Of course! But more people have said it this year." Olive replied ecstatically. Dart shrugged.

"Doesn't mean much. Hope it's easy." Dart added. Olive peered at him.

"You don't like a challenge?" She asked.

"Of course I like challenges," Dart replied, "But there's no point if there's not a better reward for it." Olive grinned.

"Fair enough!" She said cheerfully. Dart flinched when a voice suddenly began speaking. The voices in the ship slowly died down.

"We are close to arriving at Beacon Academy. Please gather your things and prepare to disembark." As if it was a signal, several people got up and rushed to the observation deck. Dart stretched his neck, trying to get a glimpse, but eventually giving up.

"Come on." Dart said, gesturing towards the crowd. Olive smiled joyously and followed him as he stood up. The two weaved their way through the crowd. When they finally broke through, they dashed to the edge of the deck and gasped. Dart observing the view, eyes wide and Olive with her mouth gaping wide.

Beacon Academy stood proudly in front of them. It was white and grey, with spiral towers and a long white bridge that curved around the school. Large glass windows sparkled against the sun. A small blue stream circled the building, surrounded by beautiful stone and obsidian lamp posts. Beautiful weeping willows swayed in the breeze, their long flowing arms brushing against the stone. A long walkway led up to the big wooden doors at the end. The two glanced at each other.

"Hey Olive?" Dart asked, not taking his eyes off the school. Olive glanced at him, her face bright.

"I think I'm going to like it here." Dart added breathlessly. Olive squealed energetically.

"I'm going to as well!"


	2. Chapter 2

The airship blew away those standing near the landing zone. The roar of their engines died off, returning the entrance to the school to a relative volume. The students flocked out, rushing down the ramp before it fully extended outwards. The group pushed Xanthic ahead before he could catch up with his new friend. Riliane followed the railing leading down to the entrance, feeling the hundreds of thousands of footsteps echoing in her mind. Olive skipped happily off the ship, talking and laughing to her heart's content. D'art struggled, stumbling off before laying down on solid ground. Celeste left with an air of grace, stepping over the collapsed D'art. Owen looked around him in wonder, shocked at all the architecture and people bustling the streets. All the students spread around outside the main courtyard, showing off their semblances, weapons, and histories.

A young woman with silver hair and green eyes calmly disembarked the airship. Despite the warm air she wore a long black scarf and two different jackets. As she made her way towards the towering building a boy with messy reddish hair bumped into her in his own excitement. "Sorry 'bout that!" He spun to apologise, revealing his yellow eyes, and continued walking backwards.

"Y-you're fine," She said quietly.

"I know," he winked with a toothy grin. "Though I have to say you look fantastic…" The boy with messy raspberry red hair paused and gave her an expectant look.

"Amelia Crayne," she told him as she started to blush and accepted the handshake he offered. It was only then that she noticed his fingernails ended in sharp points like claws.

"I'm Simba Darude-Lion, it's a pleasure Amelia." Simba put his hands behind his head, Amelia didn't really understand why as it looked fairly uncomfortable. "I don't suppose you've already decided on who you want to be on your team, cause I think we'd work really well together."

"Well… I can't say I've put much thought into it… But don't you think that's a bit hasty to say?"

"Not at all," Simba laughed proudly. "I'm about as good with new people as you are beautiful. Though that might be a bit of an exaggeration of my part."

"O- thank you…" His flattery felt strange, but Amelia still appreciated it nonetheless.

Simba was very proud of himself for putting her in a good mood, but suddenly his smile turned into a shout, "Duck!" As she was told to Amelia bent her legs and a small brown orb glowing yellow narrowly missed her head and Simba caught it. "What're you doing, Moony!? You're the one that keeps telling us how dangerous these are!" Despite the mention of danger Simba chucked the ball back at the boy with his same hair color, though "Moony's" was much longer and slightly better kept.

"Sorry to interupt your… Whatever you want to call it, but Dan just had a surprisingly good idea!" The boy in dark purple robes yelled back after effortlessly catching the orb.

"My brothers can't do anything on their own," Simba tried to explain.

"Don't flatter yourself," Another young man with the same hair, his was a perfect mix between the other two. He was just slightly taller than Simba and could easily lift him over his shoulder. "We just need another set of hands. Hope my lil' bro didn't bother you too much," He turned to Amelia briefly before walking away as if everything about this was completely normal. Amelia couldn't help but notice his happily swishing lion tail. She put them out of her mind and made her way along with all of the first year students eventually gathered in the same room to hear the headmaster speak.

* * *

"I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy," Ozpin started his speech. Celeste scoffed in the crowd.

"Don't like the speech?" Riliane asked.

Celeste looked over to the other girl, surprised. "I'd rather begin the fighting," Celeste replied.

The other girl nodded. "Before we fight, though, we must learn how." Celeste got closer to the other girl.

"I know how to fight, there is no question about that." Riliane giggled. Celeste stepped back, a slight blush upon her cheeks.

"My name is Riliane. May I know yours?" she asked reaching her hand out in front of her. Celeste reached out slowly to take it.

"Celeste. So... I saw you getting off the ship earlier. If I may ask, are you… you know..."

"Blind? Yes I am." Riliane answered. "Sorry." Celeste said, slowly taking her hand away. "Don't apologize. Life throws many obstacles at us, and it is up to us how we respond to the challenge." The rest of the of speech proceeded with Celeste staring at Riliane, and the latter thinking she was alone. A girl with black hair ran past, not however catching the eye of Celeste. "It is up to you to take the first step."

Later

Eve, the girl with black hair and a piercing blue eye walked down the hall. Her mouth seemed to be in a permanent frown as put her face in her scroll, finding her way towards the library. She nearly slammed into the large wooden doors in front of her before looking up quickly. Near the doors was a silver plate with the words 'Library' carved onto it. It was closer than she had thought, she put the scroll in her pocket, opening the large wooden doors with no difficulty.

A large room with bookshelves lining the walls opened up before her. When she stepped into the library, she let out a small sigh of relief. No more hectic hallways and bustling crowds of people. Eve bit her lip and picked a random book from the shelf, walking to a free table. She wanted nothing more than to lose herself in peace, quiet, and a good story. She sat down and opened the book to the first page, scanning the text before-

"Hello!" A chirpy voice pierced her ears. Eve flinched, and slowly looked up. A cheerful girl with a bright smile and short blonde hair beamed at her. Just what she needed. Eve looked back at the book and continued reading, trying to silently signal to the girl that she had no wanting to chit chat and that she wanted to be left alone. The girl however, stood where she was.

"Need something?" Eve asked finally. The girl laughed heartedly.

"I just wanted to say that's my favorite book! I thought no one else liked it!" The girl added. Eve blinked and slowly turned the book over, freezing when she read the cover. 'Ninja's of love.' Eve slammed the book on the table and got up. The library ceased it's whispering, staring at the two girls in the middle. The girl smiled innocently at Eve who stalked off, bag in hand.

"Hey wait up!" The girl called out behind her. Eve continued walking forward with a sigh. "Did you like it?" She asked, continuing excitedly. " I like chapter five, It gets really-" The girl hesitated. "It's really good." She finished.

Eve turned a corner, opening her scroll to look at a map of the school. Sleeping area, dorm, anything of the above. Eve frowned, she couldn't find it.

"What's your name?" The girl's words broke Eve's train of thought and she blinked.

"Pardon?" Eve asked, continuing to stare at the map.

"What's your name?" The girl asked again.

"Eve."

"That's a nice name." Said the girl. "The name's Olive."

"Nice to meet you." Eve said without sparing her a glance. Out of the corner of her eye, Olive grinned.

"You too! By the way, are you looking for something?" Olive asked, leaning over Eve's scroll. Eve sighed.

"Yes Olive, I'm looking for something." She responded.

"What for?"

"The sleeping area." Eve responded, exhausted.

"Oh! I was just there earlier, follow me!" Olive called out with a grin, prancing down hall. Eve stared at her, exasperated.

"Right." She said, following her slowly.

When the two entered the room they were looking for, they were forced to dodge a flying pillow. Eve ducked and blinked, taking in the chaos in front of her.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Someone screamed. The large bedroom was engulfed in flying white cushions of death and angry screams. Eve and Olive stood to the side in silence.

"Is this the right room?" Eve asked finally. Olive was staring at the chaos in glee, she grabbed a ripped pillow off of the ground.

"This is it alright! I'm gonna join in on the fun!" Olive chirped, running into the fray with a fierce warrior cry. Exasperated, Eve stared after her and heaved a sigh.

And to think she expected good things from her peers. What a disappointment.

Earlier

"My fair lady." A young faunus boy with messy crimson hair said elegantly. He bent down and kissed the delicate hand of a girl with long blonde pigtails who fidgeted slightly, but didn't look his way. There were a couple snickers from the three other boys who stood to their right, observing the encounter. The male faunus flushed a light shade of crimson and cleared his throat, flipping his hair and then blowing it away when it plopped over his golden eyes.

"My name is Dan Darude-Lion. I was wondering if you could tell me yours." He said quickly, flashing a nervous smile.

"Riliane." She spoke quickly, as if wanting to be done with the encounter as quickly as possible. She took her hand out of the boy's with a polite smile.

"Boo." One of the boys from the right called out, throwing a pillow at Dan. It bonked him in the head and landed on the floor.

"Hey! Cmon!" Dan snapped. The group of boys hollered out several cat calls and grinned at the girl who seemed to be as soft spoken as ever. Dan grabbed the pillow on the ground and threw it back at the group angrily. "Sorry about that." He chuckled nervously. "They're just-" He didn't get to finish what he said, because three large pillows smacked his face and he stumbled backwards from the impact. Riliane finally looked up, her grey eyes widening as she looked around with a confused expression.

Dan was seething, his seemingly perfect flirting (in his point of view) was ruined by his uncouth brothers. He grabbed two pillows, one in his left, the other in his right, and threw them back at his siblings.

One of the pillows whisked past them, smacking a girl who sat a few feet away. Her hair was sky blue and came to her shoulders, as the pillow slid down her face and fell onto the floor Dan knew he had made a mistake. The girl's lilac eyes flickered open and blazed furiously, she stood up slowly, the pillow in hand. And then the screaming began.

Present

"Filthy minions!" Olive cried out zealously, standing on a large stack of pillows. "Charge towards our enemy and spill their blood!" She hollered while making a strange animal call, swinging a pillow over her head. With a laugh of joy she pointed to the opposing 'fort' of pillows. "Off with their feathers!" She shouted. Her side of the room obliged, several people charging with warrior calls towards the enemy with pillows of all assortments.

On the other side of the room, on another fort, was a girl with sky blue hair and lilac eyes. Her arms were crossed and eyes narrowed. Near the bottom of the pillow tower was a battered cardboard sign that had the words 'Fort Kickass' shabbily painted onto it's surface.

"Make them pay!" She barked, her side erupting in pillow soldiers meet the others in warfare.

In the middle of the room was a rather pathetic looking pile of pillows that surrounded four faunus brothers. They ducking the onslaught of feathers, throwing a few at both sides here and there.

The girl with sky blue hair, jumped down from the fort, grabbing two particularly long pillows, dodging a swipe and kicking the legs of the person who was in front of her. She made her way to the middle of the room while attacking those who passed her. Olive jumped down from her spot, swinging the pillow around like a sword and sprinting towards the center. As the two met eye contact and moved to attack, a piercing voice shattered the ears of everyone in the room.

"ENOUGH!" Yelled a woman with blonde hair, she stormed towards the center of the room. The screaming stopped abruptly, several students in mid attack slowly dropped their pillows and stepped back from their opponents.

In the center, Olive and the girl with blue hair stared at the woman, slowly letting their pillows fall to the ground. "Who started this?" Asked the woman angrily, she was seething. Hesitating, almost all the people in the room pointed to the small fort of pillows that contained the faunus brothers.

"That one threw a pillow at me." Spat the girl with blue hair, pointing to one of the brothers in particular. They flushed a bright shade of pink and slowly backed away.

The woman heaved a sigh and flicked her wand angrily. Slowly, the ripped pillows and feathers that laid on the ground hovered into the air, repairing themselves and flying to their original locations. The shabby sign with the words 'Fort Kickass' printed onto it was flung up into the air, ramming into the head of one of the faunus brothers. It was the tallest one of the bunch and he rubbed his head. The students, ignoring the event, watched in awe as the room went back to it's previous state, until it looked as if nothing had happened. Then the woman's eyes snapped to the faunus boy furiously. She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the room, ignoring his screams.

Eve had been watching the entire affair with a doubtful gaze and a disappointed first impression. She plumped down on her sleeping bag in the corner, curled up under her blankets, and hoped no one would pay her any notice.

After the pillow fight affair, the entire room slept rather peacefully. Not one thought of initiation the next day, but of their homes and their pasts. A girl dreamt of her home in the forest of crimson trees. Another dreamt of their work in the mines, and the pain of losing an arm. There were many more. Not one imagined the horrors that awaited them tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3 Part 1

"You may be wondering what we are here for." Ozpin said, standing in front of the group. "We are here to see how you do in a combat situation as well as put you into teams. You will be sent into individual tunnels that will lead you into a maze. In the center of this maze will be small relics. You must collect these relics and bring them back. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the remainder of your stay here at Beacon. Be warned. The maze is full of a variety of Grimm, and when the last relic is collected... Well, let's just say, It's going to be interesting. Now, any questions." A large number of hands raised. "Very good. Glynda will now show you where to go." Ozpin finished, ignoring the hands, and taking a sip from his mug. Leading the students to their tunnels, Glynda reminded them of the mission. The students passed through the tunnels, and out to the maze. The test had begun.

* * *

Olive nearly skipped through the narrow corridors. Deciding to save her energy she simply teleported past any grimm she faced. Suddenly a wall disappeared and a young woman jumped back into her making them both fall. The girl quickly recovered and dodged the creep's next attack. Olive rolled out of the way and got back to her feet. She turned to face them, "Hello there~"

The woman was completely silent as her eyes and black scarf were focused on the grimm. The fabric folded over itself making a point and had a dim dark brown glow. It quickly jutted out and pierced the creep's flesh just below its jaw. It fell to the ground already fading into smoke. "Who are you?"

"I'm Olive, nice to meet you." She held out her hand and smiled brightly.

"Amelia," She paused before shaking her hand. "I think… this makes us partners?"

"Yep! Though what's with your scarf? Is it infused with dust?"

"Yeah."

"That's so cool! I've never actually seen someone who uses dust fabric before. Is it difficult to control? Or does it basically just do whatever you think?"

"I'm not sure what it's like for others… It's easier for me because I use my semblance to control the scarf itself."

"Wow~ That's so cool! Think I could try using it sometime? You could borrow Shadow Bolt in exchange of course!"

"I'm not sure… For now we should just focus on passing initiation." Amelia continued walking again and Olive followed closely behind.

* * *

Riliane's cape billowed behind her as she ran through the maze. With her semblance activated it was easy for her to avoid even the sudden changes in the walls. Despite this she still ran directly into someone. "Ow, what the?"

"Did you not see me?" An irritated voice came from the young man now kneeling on the ground and his presence became crystal clear to Riliane, as if he had just popped into existence.

"No, sorry. I can't see most people very well." She chuckled and offered her hand to him.

"Huh? Oh, Riliane." He took her assistance to get up. "We met on the airship. You ran into me then too."

"Xanthic, right?"

"The one and only," he gave a short mock bow and chuckled, this time it was Riliane being left out of the joke. A beowolf growled and came around the corner, "Oh right, I was doing something." Xanthic flicked his left hand into the air making his glove fly off, it spun and folded over itself changing into a blunderbuss pistol. He charged a shot, a ball of bright green energy formed at the end of the barrel. It then fired off hitting the grimm square in the chest and knocking it back. Switching his weapon back he dashed in sliced its throat with both clawed hands. The creature turned into black smoke and Xanthic returned to his new partner's side. "To the relics, m'lady," He took a knee as a knight in fairy tales would and they both laughed before setting off.

* * *

Eve zoned in on the path in front of her. The narrow walkway disappeared into the dim blue light. As the bell sounded, Eve sprinted into the darkness using her semblance to speed herself up considerably. Find the center, find the center, find the center. She thought, letting the chains of her whip slide down her arm. Far ahead was a large beowolf slowly crawling towards her. Without giving it a second glance, Eve wrapped the whip around it's legs, ripping them off as she continued to run.

If she had assumed right she wouldn't even have to use the weapons on the whip itself. Considering the incompetent people she had observed, the initiation would be easy. A small confident smirk came onto her lips but she erased it quickly, using her semblance to sprint on the walls of the maze, running past a small group of beowolves. At this rate, she would reach the center in about- Eve gasped as she dodged a bullet of lightning, losing her concentration and falling off the wall, flipping around at the right moment and rolling on the ground. Annoyed, Eve rubbed her head and looked up.

A boy with an ursa pelt coat and brown hair lept in the air, two tomahawks in hand as he flipped, burying his blades into the head of an Ursa. His feet slammed onto its shoulders before he did a backflip, landing on the ground smoothly. The Ursa let out a loud groan before limply falling onto the ground with a thud. The boy strolled to the Ursa's dead body, yanking out the axes embedded in it's skull. Calmly, his head turned slightly towards her and the two blinked.

"Hullo." The boy stated, rather surprised. Eve stared at him and brushed the dirt off her jacket rather briskly.

"Hi." She responded blankly. Her eyes snapped to the rifle on his back and her eyes instinctively narrowed. Had he fired the electrical bullet?

"I guess that means we're partners?" The boy asked, facing her and putting away his tomahawks. Partners. She had almost forgotten. Eve refrained from a sigh and nodded mildly. "The name's D'art." The boy said, holding out his hand. Eve stared at it, and grimly shook his hand. D'art stared at her expectantly.

"Oh, my name's Eve." She responded. D'art nodded and turned around. "Onwards to the center then?" He asked. Eve nodded, hoping desperately that this boy wouldn't slow her down. She wasn't about to fail initiation because of one person.

However, as the two sprinted towards the center Eve realized that the boy was not slow at all. In fact, he was almost faster than she was. Mildly impressed and very relieved, Eve used her semblance to speed the two up.

The easy sprint didn't last long. Suddenly, a low groan emerged from under the ground. The two came to a stop, panting. They looked down, and then up again.

"Did you hear that?" D'art asked softly. Eve slowly stared at her feet and swallowed.

"I'm sure it was nothing." She dismissed. D'art nodded slowly.

"Right, right." He replied, biting his lip. An uneasy expression came upon his face. Another thud echoed under the ground. The two made eye contact, eyes wide, before sprinting down the path. The ground erupted beneath them and the two were thrown into the air. Eve, with a grunt used her gravity semblance, allowing the two to reassert themselves before falling on the ground. The two rolled onto their sides.

A line of white bloomed on the ground, quickly spreading towards them. Eve's eyes widened.

"Run." She said softly. D'art groaned, clutching his head and sitting up.

"What?" He asked.

"RUN!" She shrieked, standing up and grabbing his arm, yanking him on his feet. D'art made a sound of panic as he caught a glance of the spreading line of white, sprinting behind his partner.

"IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?" D'art yelled, his voice reaching Eve's ears.

"YES!" Eve hollered, speeding them both up to the best of her ability. The ground behind them was freezing, the stone becoming a beautiful crystal blue. Small green weeds that sprouted in between the stone became small sticks of ice. The air behind them became misty as flakes of snow fell from the sky.

"To think they'd use ice dust," Eve muttered beneath her breath, panting. As the two ran, the line seemed to spread faster until it was nearly at their ankles.

"What happens when it reaches us?!" D'art yelled. Eve didn't respond, with grit teeth she used the last of her energy to speed the both of them up.

The two reached a clearing where they collapsed on the ground. The line of ice slowed, and then retracted back into the path, leaving the two breathless.

"Sanglante." D'art panted. "What's wrong with this place?" His head hit the floor and he closed his eyes. "Wake me in five minutes." He grumbled. Eve sighed, standing up shakily.

"We don't have time to rest." She responded swiftly.

"That's the fastest I've run. Ever." D'art spat weakly. "I think we're ahead of everyone, we can afford to take a break." Eve shook her head, her eyes locked on the path leading deeper into the labyrinth. D'art sat up, squinting at her. "Are you human?" He asked. "How can you even move after that?"

"If we lie down now, we won't get up for a while." Eve responded quickly. D'art groaned, as his partner grabbed his arm.

"Just five minutes." He pleaded.

"Let's go." Eve snapped, she yanked on his arm, but D'art sat firmly in place. Eve was about to use her semblance when she decided she didn't want to waste it on such a trivial affair when she had exhausted it already. She debated going to the center herself but decided not to risk it.

"Hey." She started.

"Sup." D'art responded, his eyes closed as sat on the ground.

"Have you heard the story of the Tortoise and the Hare?" Eve asked.

"Pardon?" D'art asked.

"You haven't then. Do you want to hear it?" Eve asked, staring ahead.

"No." D'art responded.

"It goes a bit like this." Eve said, ignoring his groan. "There was a tortoise and a hare,"

"Pas de merde." D'art muttered.

"They were both participating in a race." Eve continued, unaffected. "The hare was much faster than the tortoise. And when the hare reached the halfway mark, and looked behind him, the tortoise was nowhere to be seen."

"Sucks for him."

"The hare was so confident that he could win the race, he decided to take a nap." Spoke Eve.

"I can sympathize."

"The tortoise passed the hare while he was sleeping, and when the hare woke up it was too late. The tortoise had already passed the finish line. The crowd cheered for the tortoise and the hare was frustrated that he had slept." Eve finished.

"What a wonderful story." D'art said sarcastically.

"Thanks." Eve replied, mildly surprised and oblivious to his sarcasm. "Cmon, let's keep going."

"Gonna throw in another lovely story if we stay?" D'art questioned, peeking open one eye to stare at his partner.

"Perhaps." Eve responded, turning to look at him. D'art seemed to contemplate this possibility before grimacing and standing up slowly with a yawn.

"Another time maybe. For now, let's keep going." He said with a grin, rolling up his sleeves and holding up his hand for a high five. Eve stared at it blankly. D'art heaved a sigh.

"Gonna leave me hanging?" He asked sarcastically. Eve stared at his hand and then blinked, letting her's touch his softly. D'art flushed and shook his head. "Nononno, you slap it. It's a high five." He retracted his own and hit her hand lightly.

"Right." Eve responded simply. D'art let out a tired laugh and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Oh whatever." He turned to face the clearing. "Let's go kick some grimm booty." He grinned and sprinted down the path that lay ahead. Eve stared after him, glancing at her hand and then sprinting after her partner.

* * *

She ran through the corridors, searching for the way out. She made a left, then a right, then another left, only to find herself at a dead end. "I hate mazes," Celeste yelled out.

"Behind you!" she heard someone yell. A loud growling sound came from behind her as a creep drew near. Drawing out Ferrum Glacies, she activated the burn dust, and charged at the Grimm. Blades clashed with claws as the Huntress and Grimm fought each other. Not much later, the grimm began disappearing as it had been defeated. Celeste looked around for who had called out to her, only to find no one there.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping for an answer.

"Are you okay?" the voice asked.

"I'm fine. Where are you?" The voice didn't respond. Celeste began walking the way she had come. She traced herself back to the closest intersection, and began walking the other way. A few corridors later, the voice returned.

"I'm close to you, just wait where you are." It was now that Celeste realized she wasn't hearing the voice with her ears. It was in her head.

"You again? I told you to stay out of my head." Silence. "I don't need any help from you. Just leave me alone." The sound of footsteps behind her signaled she was no longer alone.

"That's gonna be hard to do since we're partners now. The name's Owen, by the way." The huntsman said, extending out his hand. Celeste looked at him, then turned and walked away not saying anything. "Hey. Wait up." Owen said as he chased after her.

* * *

Amelia and her partner arrived in the center of the maze and caught a glimpse of a man with a lion tail and his partner leaving. A great wooden pedestal held several figurines of different grimm species. She noted the only set missing was the beringel. "Do you have a preference?" Amelia asked looking down at her partner.

"Hm…" Olive carefully inspected all the figurines on the table before snatching up the goliath. "Elephants are cute," she held it up for Amelia's approval.

"I guess so…" Amelia stopped in her tracks at the sound she recognised as an alpha beowolf. She turned her back to where the sound came from, "This way."

"What? Couldn't they be in trouble?"

"If they were accepted to this school then they should be fine against a single alpha. Besides, the professor said we needed to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"Beowolves always call for reinforcements though," Olive dashed off towards the howl. Amelia sighed and followed after her, if nothing else it might be good practice. Looking desperately for the students in trouble Olive stopped and pulled her bandana over her face. She leaped forward and rolled out of the way as the alpha they heard earlier broke through the wall on their left. It got back up and started towards Amelia. Her scarf moved to block his swings as she attempted to regain balance from the surprize. A pair consisting of a young man and woman came through the hole in the wall. The girl held out her wooden staff, Olive saw her press a button making it extend and curve into a longbow. She drew an arrow and as she released Olive jabbed at nothing with her wakizashi causing a bolt of electricity fly out. The dust combined with the arrow and pierced the nape of the grimm's neck.

It recoiled from the shot and fell limp before dissolving. "Thanks for the help," Riliane said facing roughly in Olive's direction.

"Glad to," She smiled brightly removing her face mask. "Oh! Do you two want a boost to the center?"

"You know the way?" Xanthic asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, though this'll be much faster." Riliane disappeared in a warm breeze.

"What did you-" Before he could finish his question he also disappeared with a gentle gust of wind.

* * *

Celeste continued walking without saying anything to the young man that was her new partner. There were several occasion in which Owen tried futilely to start a conversation with her, most of which started with an apology. "I didn't mean-"

"I don't care." She always cut him off quickly. "Just shut up and keep moving." With a sigh he obeyed and followed her around the next bend which lead to an opening with a pedestal holding several small figurines. Several were already missing and Celeste grabbed the first one that caught her attention. She tossed the miniature beowolf at Owen, "I think this one's fitting."

"You're definitely as aggressive as one," He pretended the comment wasn't about his wolf tail and chuckled. Owen was relieved that Celeste smiled at his joke instead of getting even more upset at him.

* * *

"-Do!?" Xanthic was suddenly standing next to his partner again. They were both next to a table of figurines. "She… teleported us here?"

"It would seem so. Man that's a really cool semblance!"

"Yeah." He turned his attention now to the table and saw four spaces of figurines missing. "These must be the relics then."

"Yep, but which one do we take?"

"How about the goliath? The other one's missing so our teammates must be capable."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

D'art grabbed the only remaining relic, a Beowulf statue, running his hands over the stained wood. "Wow, this is sick. I might keep this for myself" he said, looking back at his partner.

Eve looked at the statue, then around herself. "So much for being first. How are we supposed to get out?" She wondered aloud. Suddenly, the ground began to quake.

"Another ice trap?" D'art said, ready to run.

Eve placed a hand down on the shaky earth. "No…something worse…"

* * *

Xanthic and Riliane struggled back through the maze, questioning their every move. Suddenly, Riliane stopped. Xanthic turned to his partner. "What's wrong? See a ghost?" He joked.

Riliane's face became still. "Get next to me. Now." Xanthic, confused, moved next to the blind girl.

"What's up with you?" Xanthic asked, slightly annoyed. Riliane held her hand on one of the maze walls.

"The walls" she said, feeling the sinking of each block "they're dropping into the floor." Xanthic looked, noticing that the walls were getting smaller and smaller. Suddenly, the dangers of the maze revealed themselves: a pack of beowolves, Ursa, and a king taijitu pierced over the low hanging barriers sinking to the floor. Xanthic pulled out his weapon, ready to fight. The Grimm turned their head to the remaining members in the maze, their orange eyes glowing with murder.


	4. Chapter 3 Part 2

D'art was still appreciating the craftsmanship of the figurine when the ground began shaking. Turning to grab the pedestal for stability he watched it sink into the ground, "What's going on?" He asked his partner who was currently just as confused as the walls around them shook vigorously and crumbled by their own force. Within minutes they saw all of the stone walls not reduced to rubble sink into the floor and all of the grimm were free to wander around as they pleased. An ursa major roared from behind them and deciding to attempt to avoid a conflict with it they ran, getting separated from each other due to the newfound chaos in the colosseum.

On the other side of the battle field, suddenly, there was a terrible cry. A shriek of pain and darkness that pierced the ears of everyone in the maze. Xanthic looked up, his eyes widening as everything around him was embraced with a cloud of dust. He reflexively put his arm over his eyes and waited for it to pass. He could barely make out the fleeting footsteps of his partner and the gust easily drowned out his meek voice. After he removed it, he coughed and looked up, freezing in place. Despite his partner being gone, Xanthic wasn't alone.

He came face to face with two enormous snakes that stood above him, their scarlet beady eyes boring into his own unflinchingly. One pearly white, the other jet black. Xanthic stepped back, getting ready to run before his eyes flickered emerald green.

He stood there, a smile forming on his lips. Finally, a challenge. Spinning them, Xanthic got out his blunderbuss pistols and was about to run towards it before a hand yanked him back.

"What are you thinking?!" Someone asked. Xanthic spun around, coming eye to eye with a girl. Her black hair was tied into two long braids and she had one cobalt eye that stared at him furiously. An eyepatch covered her other. She appeared like she had been on her way out.

"I'm trying to kill these things, if you'll let me." Xanthic snapped, pulling away from the grip of the girl who held on. She didn't even budge.

"You'll kill yourself in the process, come on." She hissed, attempting to drag him back.

"Let me go." Xanthic ordered, staying in place.

"The idiots I have to deal with." She muttered, turned away from him. A wave of anger washed over Xanthic who snapped his fingers. A high pitched noise was emitted around the girl, piercing the ears of everyone nearby. He amplified the volume as much as he could. The girl stumbled back, her grip on him releasing as she covered her ears. She cursed under her breath as Xanthic rushed forward towards the two snakes.

With a start, he realized that one of the snakes was no longer staring at him, but now at the girl who was covering her ears. Drawn to the noise no doubt. He spun around, eyes widening as the black snake lunged towards her.

But before it got to her, the raven haired girl put out her hand. As if it had encountered an invisible wall, the snake lurched backwards almost instantaneously; it's long body twisting in a way that looked unnatural. Xanthic stared at her blankly and then readjusted his gaze upon the other snake that had coiled around them. It had formed a circular scaly wall.

"No getting out now." She muttered, chains slithering down her arms and surrounding her loosely.

"I'll take the white one." Xanthic snapped, not wanting to work together.

"I'll kill the black." She responded angrily. They met eye contact, frowning, and then set to work.

Xanthic, excited to finally be able to use his skills, jumped onto the white snake. His gauntlets revealed it's immaculate claws and he ran the blades into its skin, sprinting upwards while his claws left bloody marks. The white snake hissed loudly, twisting and turning in agony. Xanthic vigorously held on to it's scales with his claws embedded in its flesh. His legs dangled limply in the air as he carved slashes into it's skin.

His eyes averted briefly to the girl who appeared to be doing fine. She spun in midair, her hand clutching a sword connected to a chain as she cut clean through it's tail, narrowly missing it's upper body. The black snake hissed furiously and lunged towards her, it's mouth open and fangs dripping with venom. With a flick of her wrist, the chain twisted around it's head and she drove it towards the ground over and over again. It's head hit the floor with a sickening crunch repeatedly. He only saw her face for a brief moment, but he could have sworn that a grin was on it. Chills swept across his skin.

Xanthic's attention returned towards the white snake before his grip slipped and he fell onto its moving back. Grunting, he spun, embedding his claws in it's flesh. How much could this thing take? He thought angrily. Like a cat, he sprinted up it's scales, reaching his head. He took out his pistols, aiming at it's blood red eyes and pressing the triggers before reflexively closing his eyes. All he could hear was an agonizing screech of pain as his feet left the head of the snake and he felt himself falling in midair.

Xanthic braced himself for the fall before a gentle force stopped his momentum. His eyes flickered open, realizing with a start that he was hovering in midair. He glanced at the girl who had her palm turned towards him. Her other hand was on her hip as she stood on the smashed in corpse of the black snake, her blue eye narrowed in concentration. Slowly, he floated downwards, his feet touching the ground as he felt the force leave him.

The corpse of the black snake slowly turned to ash, filtering into the air after she jumped off it. Xanthic turned towards the white snake that thudded onto the ground lifelessly. He looked away from the bloody remainders of its eyes and brushed his pants off quickly. The thought of saying 'thank you' popped into his head but he dismissed it quickly. He could have handled the fall anyways.

The two met eyes but before they could say anything, another roar echoed throughout the stadium. The two spun around, face to face with a moving sea of black and red. A swarm of ursi and beowolves.

"We're done here." She said simply, running in the opposite direction, her blue tailcoat flickering behind her. Xanthic adjusted his fedora and let out a sigh, sprinting behind the girl as fast as he could.

* * *

As the two made their way back to the entrance, Owen stopped and looked around. "What?" Celeste asked while continuing walking. "Someone needs help," Owen yelled as he ran in the opposite direction they were walking. Celeste started making her way in the same direction, shaking her head. She was walking along a remaining corridor, when the walls around her suddenly dropped into the floor. A small pack of Beowolves met her eyes. "Well let's get this started then," Celeste said as she charged the pack. She kept Ferrum Glacies in defense form to block the fury of claws that met her assault. She blocked attacks, then slashed in offense. Unfortunately, her slashes did nothing but aggravate the Beowolves more. She began to worry slightly as they're claws came faster and more powerful. Suddenly, a whistling sound came, followed by an arrow protruding from a beowolves chest. "Huh?" Celeste questioned, trying to look around. More whistling could be heard, followed by more arrows in the assaulting Grimm. Celeste quickly shifted her blades forward to offensive mode, and attacked the distracted Grimm. A series of arrows and stabs finished the remaining Grimm. After defeating the Grimm, Celeste retracted her blades, and began walking towards her savior. Riliane lowered her bow and waved at the approaching brawler. "Hello" Riliane said. "Hey. T-thanks for the help," Celeste responded, rubbing her arm. "No problem," Riliane replied, not looking directly at Celeste. "So...need help getting out of here?" Celeste asked. Riliane chuckled lightly, "If you're asking to join me, then the answer is sure. If I need help, though, not so much." She began walking towards the entrance; Celeste following behind her with a light blush.

* * *

Getting fed up with running D'art sighed and put the figurine in his pocket. He turned to face a pack of Ursa head on, their growls echoing across the maze. "Alright. Let's do this." D'art said, pulling out his tomahawks and brandishing them. The horde of Ursa stared at D'art, with him staring back. For a moment it felt like time stopped, the fighting and bullets slowing to a halt. Then, D'art broke the silence, screaming as he ran forward to strike. Suddenly, a person streaked by him, knocking the front of the Ursa on his feet.

"Yes! First strike!" The girl chirped, heading on through the rest of the horde. D'art looked at her, perplexed, then shook off the shock.

"Ok. She's got up close" he said, putting his tomahawks back and grabbing his rifle. "Let's hope I can show off a little." D'art fired at the Ursa, unloading and reloading with a flash. Olive stopped to see where the constant noise was coming from, watching as D'art slung his rifle towards the Ursa.

"Oh that's the D'art guy I saw on the ship!" She said, cheerily cutting through an Ursa. "I guess we're in a contest! Fun!" Olive continued to fight her way through, dodging D'arts bullets and cutting off heads and limbs. She cheered as the last of their enemies fell. "Alright!" She said, jumping up and down. "What was your final count? Anything big?"

D'art dusted off his jacket, reloading his rifle. "12?" He said, confused.

Olive scoffed victoriously "Ha! That's nothing, I got 17, guess I won this time, woooooo!" Olive leaped from the ground, plunging head first into another group of Ursa.

* * *

As the battle went on, Owen fought tooth and nail with a pack of Boarbatusk, his cybernetics wearing thin. 'Cmon' he thought to himself 'just hold out a little longer'. Suddenly a silence fell on the field.

A girl rushed through a crowd, whipping her dust infused scarf and destroying the Grimm. She turned around, panting to Owen. "Well? Help out!"

Owen snapped out of his confused stupor. "Ok!" He shouted, returning to the fight. "Is your name Amelia?" Owen said, punching down a boarbatusk. The girl turned around, confused. "Sorry" Owen said, scratching his head. "HEY! You can't just say that!" He shouted at Amelia, stomping his foot.

"What?!" She screamed back, using her scarf to attack a charging section of the Grimm. Owen remembered himself, then came back to his senses. Owen shot out into the scattered boarbatusks, and destroyed them quickly with his glaive. Suddenly, he saw one charging for Amelia. He pushed her aside and fired his assault rifle, the beast falling. "Alright. Let's see if anyone else needs help." Amelia said.

Owen grumbled. "...and I am not a total creep, anyways".

* * *

Elsewhere in the large battleground, D'art and Olive moved quickly towards the edge of the arena, quickly defeating the grimm in their way. "So I've been wonder- Oh!" Olive cut herself off, "It's that girl from before!" She grabbed D'art's wrist and teleported closer to the other two girls. "Hello again~"

They both jumped at the sudden encounter. "Who're- How did you-" Celeste couldn't complete a sentence in her confusion.

"Oh, you're new." Olive smiled brightly and they all gave short introductions.

"Ah, I need to find Xanthic!" Riliane suddenly remembered the young man who was her new partner. With most of the grimm defeated by now the noise level was almost perfect for her semblance. Pointing in the distance she asked the group, "Who's over there?"

As the four walked closer Olive and Celeste recognised the new pair. "Ugh, it's just my nosey partner."

Olive's reaction was the complete opposite to Celeste's as she jumped up and waved, "Hey Amy~" Owen and Amelia made their way over to the small group.

"While this is great," Riliane tried not to sound pessimistic or rude, "I can't find Xanthic."

"I don't know where Eve is either," D'art pointed out and tried to reassure her. "Maybe they met up and got out together?"

"You're probably ri-" She was cut off by Olive loudly yelling out the names of the two missing students. "What're you doing!?" Riliane asked still covering her ears.

...

Across the barren ring, Xanthic ran behind Eve and he couldn't help but wonder more about her. He had met a lot of people with a stiff personality before, but something about her was just… Different. Suddenly skidding to a halt on the dirt Eve turned to look at him, "What's wrong?"

Xanthic chuckled, "We're being summoned. This way!" Without waiting for her to understand he began running back where they had come from. She begrudgingly followed, cursing her luck for meeting such strange people today. It took a few minutes as the two basically had to cross the whole colosseum to find the group of six. Upon their arrival Xanthic mockingly bowed with his right hand over his heart and his left holding the brim of his hat, "Sorry for the delay. Shall we be on our way now?" Olive gave Riliane a proud 'I told you so' smile as the completed group of eight made their way to the exit together.

* * *

The auditorium was dark, other than the large screens pressed against the wall, almost all of it's current lighting came from the crumbling moon overhead. Ozpin's cool voice commanded everyone's attention as he announced the new teams for the year. "Amelia Cryane, Olive Braz, Riliane Avadona, Xanthic Picto. You four collected the goliath figures and will now be known as Team ROXA. Lead by… Riliane Avadona." The crowd cheered though the girl with twintails seemed surprised and almost concerned.

"You'll do great," Her partner whispered motivation.

The four returned to their seats and the next team walked onto the stage. "Celeste Shade, D'artagnan Montaigne, Evelyn Glamis, Owen Williams. You all retrieved the beowolf figurines and from this day forward will be Team CODE, lead by… Celeste Shade." The named girl smiled proudly though the two boys on her left appeared concerned if not upset. With the final team decided the audience erupted in celebration as their headmaster spoke to himself, "Seems this will be quite an interesting year."


	5. Chapter 4

Riliane woke from her peaceful and well deserved slumber due to Olive's loud excitement. "Wake up Captain Sleepyhead~"

Somewhat forcing herself to laugh at the nickname Riliane sat up, facing towards the rest of her new dorm room. She could tell from all the rustling that Xanthic and Amelia were both already awake. "Wh- what time is it?"

"Just past 7:30," Amelia answered softly from her place across the room.

"Do you all usually get up this early?"

"Early?" Xanthic sounded sincerely confused, "My parents would have a fit if I was still in my pajamas by eight." Though she could only assume from his statement, Xanthic was the only one already in his school uniform. She also couldn't see his face turn bright red. "Oh! Uh, sp- speaking of getting dressed I- I should uh probably… L- let you ladies do that…" He quickly left the room, the door shutting firmly behind him.

"Do you need any help, Captain?" Olive had almost immediately recognised Riliane's disability.

"I can manage dressing myself," She responded bitterly and fumbled with the clothing. Naturally it took her the longest before they let Xanthic back in.

His eyes quickly fell on Riliane and the ribbon tied sloppily around her neck. "Oh, um, let me help," Xanthic tied the red strip of fabric carefully and the bow looked much better.

"Uh… Thanks," Riliane wanted to be upset that she apparently couldn't tie a ribbon properly, but knew there was no point in getting mad about it.

"Do you guys think we should unpack now or after class?" Amelia held up her bag for emphasis.

"It'd be nice to get it out of the way I think," Xanthic voted.

"But chores in the morning are the worst," Olive objected. "Besides there wouldn't be any rush if we do it later."

"Riliane?" Amelia asked their leader for a tie breaker.

"Huh? Um… We could start now and finish later if we need to, probably. How much time is there until class anyway?"

"They begin at nine," Amelia said after rereading her schedule.

"That gives us an hour and eight minutes," Xanthic informed them.

"Should be plenty of time, right?" Her question was answered by various nods and mutterings of approval.

...

Nearly done with unpacking Olive and Xanthic were both kneeling at the bookshelf underneath the window filling it with various volumes of books and comics. "You read Red VS Blue too!?" Olive pointed excitedly at the small stack Xanthic was adding to his side.

"Y-yeah," He was slightly taken back by her sudden recognition, but smiled softly. "Though I wish the art was better in the early volumes…"

"Hm… Why don't you have the latest issues then? Surely you can afford them."

"Well, honestly, despite the better quality drawings, I don't care for them. I uh… really like Doc, so now that they've gotten rid of him-"

"He was the purple one right?"

"Er- that's right…" They continued talking about the series until everyone had finished up and decided it was time to go.

"Don't you need anything?" Amelia looked at Riliane who was the only one without a book bag.

"Not really," She waved her hand in front of her own face. "I have a bit of trouble learning from books." Riliane and Olive laughed at the joke, but the other two felt unsure about it.

* * *

Night seemed to fall quicker than it was supposed to that day for every student but Riliane. Because of her overprotective parents she had never attended a school before and while being initially filled with excitement it quickly faded into more negative emotions of self-pity and sorrow. She had never realised before how different her education had been due to her disability so her first time in a "normal" class was overwhelming. Riliane wasn't used to feeling inferior to her classmates like she did now, she wasn't even used to the feeling of competitiveness of having classmates. The day now over all she wanted was some time alone to reflect. With a clap of her hands Riliane activated her semblance and could "see" the sound waves reflect from the walls. This allowed her to have a sense of the still unfamiliar building and she followed the path leading to the roof that had become visible to her. Approaching the door she could make out someone's voice from the other side. She was about to turn back when the voice stopped suddenly and the door opened, "Riliane?"

No longer being muffled by the wall she could recognise the voice, "Oh, good evening Xanthic. L- lovely night, I'm guessing."

"Y- yeah, but uh, that's not really why I…"

A woman's voice came from his scroll, "Is something the matter, Xanthic?"

"Oh, uh, n- no! Not at all…" His face grew a shade of red as he held the scroll up to his ear again and spoke softer than before, "Er… I gotta go mom. Yes, I love you too, goodnight." The device deactivated with a soft click. Xanthic tried his best to play it cool, "S- so what're you doing up here Riliane? I would've thought you'd be in the dorm with Olive and Amelia."

"I just… I wanted some time to think by myself." She couldn't help but giggle, "Were you just on a call with your mom?"

"Er-" He sighed, "Yeah… It was part of a deal I made so I could attend Beacon… I have to call home regularly…"

"And I thought I had the most protective parents."

Xanthic smiled, "Being protective just means they care a lot, right?"

"I guess so…" Riliane stepped onto the roof and leaned back on the door closing it. "Though it feels a lot more like they don't have faith in me."

"Huh? Oh because of- Yeah, I can understand why you'd feel that way…" There was an awkward silence between them, "N-not to be rude, but um, how did you get up here by yourself?"

"With my semblance. Have I not told you guys about it yet?" Xanthic shook his head no. "Oh, sorry. Well, I can kind of…" She searched for the right words to describe the ability, "It's like I can see sound vibrations. The way sound waves bounce off objects I can perceive the world by the sound reflection, almost like bats do."

"So you could actually see the floor plan of the building just by standing in it?" Riliane nodded. "Wow… Wait, then why did you run into me during initiation? Was it not activated?"

"No, it was. I'm not sure why, but it was like you weren't there then after I hit you you were."

"Hm… Oh!" Xanthic chuckled, "It was my fault. You can only see things if they reflect sound waves. When you hit me my semblance was activated too, I can manipulate the amplitude of sound waves. I had created an area around myself that prevented sound from escaping, so I would have been invisible to you."

"On the airship then too?" He had to think for a bit before nodding. "Well that'll make fighting together a bit difficult, won't it?" Riliane sighed, "I have to lead people that I can't even see…"

"I'm not sure if my opinion means anything, but I still think you can be a great leader if you really put your mind to it."

"You're just saying that. You could probably do a better job than me."

"Th- that's not true at all!"

"Really? So you think someone who can't even tie a ribbon is a capable leader?"

His mind went back to that morning and his face now matched the ribbon in question, "S- sorry about that! I- uh, I'm just used to everything being so neatly done, I think… Uh… Not really the point…" He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well if you think about it, you're actually more impressive than you think… I mean you still can tie a ribbon despite being blind, but I can see perfectly and can't figure out a bow tie at all."

"That uh, doesn't exactly make me feel better… I already know I have to put things into perspective, but I just… I don't even know what purple is!"

"P-purple? It's like… Um… Lavender is purple, it's a relaxing color…"

Riliane looked at Xanthic with confusion and a bit of surprise etched onto her face, "What are you talking about?"

"Y- you wanted to know what purple was right? It's uh… Difficult to describe a color…" The confusion transferred to Xanthic as Riliane began laughing now, "S- sorry if I just sound... Well, stupid right now…"

"No, not at all. I've just never had somebody try to describe color for me, they always say it's just something you have to see to understand. But that's kinda my point I think, you're a far better leader than I could be. Heck you're gonna be in charge of a whole company someday, what's three students?"

"Three students is a very big deal!" Xanthic insisted, "A business is easy, just keep the numbers in line, but a team needs someone that knows what they're doing and is good with people. I've… I know I can't lead people, but well… You've hardly tried yet."

"You really think I'm the best option we have?"

"Of course. I mean n- no offense to Olive, but I can't really imagine her leading anything and with Amelia… You kinda have to talk to be a leader…"

"I guess you have a point…"

"So um… just stop worrying about it, cause all of us agree that you can do it."

Riliane smiled feeling at peace with herself and filled with a new determination to lead ROXA. "Xan can I ask you one more thing?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"Can you describe my hair color? Sometimes people compliment me on it, but I don't understand what they mean…"

"Oh, hm… have you ever gone outside, like, on a nice warm day and just… Enjoyed the feeling of the sun on your skin?" She nodded with a smile at the pleasant memories and Xanthic clarified, "Your hair is like the bright sun."


	6. Chapter 5

"Alright everyone let's get going," Celeste said as she made her way into the arena. Team CODE's leader had decided that the team would begin their time together by doing a little training together. "Why do we have to do this after a full day of classes?" Owen asked, covering a yawn with his hand. "Because I said so, that's why. Now as your leader, it's my job to know how you all fight, I guess. So we're going to do some sparring so I can get a good idea to start with," she looks between the other three. Let's get this started. Wolf boy, you'll fight with One eye."

"The name's Eve," Eve responded.

"Yeah, whatever. Just get ready." The two got into their fighting stances in the middle of the arena. "Ready? Begin!" Celeste yelled.

An agonizing amount of time passed as the two brawled. _Kick to the left._ Owen read, avoiding it with grit teeth. _Whip slash._ Using his glaive, Owen casually deflected the strike. Eve's eyes narrowed and the telepathic messages were abruptly cut out. Owen made another attempt to read her, but was unsuccessful.

"Nifty trick." Eve said under her breath, so only the two of them could hear.

"Most people would refer to it as a pain in the ass. But nifty works too." Owen let out with a grunt, as the whip latched onto his leg. Driving his glaive into the ground, he held onto it as the chain tried to drag him backwards. Eve replied without a smile.

"Oh that's an accurate description of it as well." The other side of her whip flew around her, barely missing Owen as he suddenly let go of his glaive, flying backwards. He crashed into her, forcing Eve to stumble while Owen hurried back to his glaive.

"But it's still interesting." She finished.

"I'm flattered." Owen said, spinning his weapon in his hands before driving it into the ground, he then raised an eyebrow. "And you? You can manipulate...chains?" He finished lamely. Eve let out a sigh, dashing towards him and speeding herself up. Owen dodged her barely, taking his weapon out of the ground and jamming the blunt of it into her side. Eve was almost unaffected, her head snapping towards him to retaliate before someone shouted.

"That's enough!" Celeste and D'art strolled over. "You two have been fighting for longer than thirty minutes." Celeste observed, her hands on her hips. "I was getting bored." D'art gave her an exasperated look and then glanced at the other two.

"Who wins?" Owen asked, panting slightly.

"Owen, he has more aura left." D'art replied, giving his partner a sympathetic smile. "That okay?"He asked. Eve shrugged.

"I don't care, it was fun." She responded nonchalantly. Wrapping her chains around her arms, she gave a curt nod to Owen who returned it.

"Now for the final match, correct?" Celeste asked, a grin on her face. D'art faced her and smiled uneasily.

The final match was to be D'art verses Celeste. D'art had previously won against Eve, and Owen had previously lost against Celeste. Confidence high, the opponents prepared themselves. Owen and Eve sat in the sidelines, watching them cautiously, Owen glanced at her.

 _Who do you think's gonna win?_

 _You CAN just talk normally, there's no point in communicating like this._ Owen shrugged.

 _Meh. It's fun._

 _And to answer your question, I have to say D'art._

 _Really?_

 _Mh-hmm._

 _We shall see._

 _I'm guessing you're betting on Celeste?_

 _Bingo._

Their conversation was cut off as the battle began. Celeste, without any caution, immediately dashed towards D'art, slashing at him. D'art flipped backwards, channeling a bolt of lightning midair which Celeste dodged. Rolling past a flurry of slashes, D'art was cornered already, his teeth grit as he kicked Celeste backwards and tried to gain some distance between them. Getting his rifle out, he shot several shots, scraping his opponent's thigh as she sprinted towards him.

Using her head for a split second, Celeste slashed her claws into the ground, creating a cloud of dust around her. D'art lowered the rifle slightly, his nerves buzzing as he scanned for a sign of movement. Nothing. Wait. Blue, right there. D'art fired several shots into the cloud, missing her before Celeste popped out of nowhere, her foot connecting with his stomach to send him flying backwards. Pain flashed across his vision as D'art tumbled onto the ground. Rubbing his shoulder, he got his tomahawks out and drove all his strength into countering another slash. They stood there, struggling, metal against metal.

 _It's close._ Owen leaned backwards.

 _Indeed._ Eve's stomach growled. _I wonder what I should have for lunch._ She wondered.

 _Did you really just think that?_ Eve simply shrugged in response.

Celeste jabbed her elbow into D'art's ribs, forcing his stance to weaken as her claws slashed him, his aura having already become nearly depleted.

"You done?" She asked, panting.

"Not yet." D'art huffed, tackling her to the ground. From underneath her opponent, Celeste rolled backwards, pinning him to the ground, her claws inches from his throat. A strand of her blue hair fell from her ear, hovering over his cheek.

"What about now?" She asked, her eyes locked on his. D'art laughed uneasily.

"Alright, I surrender."

"Good." She huffed, standing up and retracting her weapon. "And Celeste wins again." She called out with a confident grin.

"Good match." Owen called out, clapping lightly. Beside him, Eve nodded.

"You lasted pretty long there," Celeste says, holding out her hand to help Dart up. He takes it and stands up. "Though you left yourself open. You all did. You need to learn how to read the person you're fighting. Read the way they move, when they're going to strike, or how."

Owen chuckled. "I have no problem reading people."

Celeste walked over to him. "Do you know why you lost to me?"

He looked at her, then looked down before responding. "You weren't thinking. I couldn't read you."

"Exactly. You need to learn how to read without your semblance. I rely on instinct over thought. Heck, I could probably take all three of you on at once."

Eve perks up. "Care to wager on that?"

Celeste looks over to her, then looks down thinking. "Let's do it. Next match is you three against me."

"You sure you want to do this?" Dart asked.

"It'll be a good learning opportunity for you three. You call it." Celeste stood on one side of the arena, while the others gather to the other side. "Everyone ready?" All of them nod.

"You still sure about this?"

"Just call it already."

Dart looks between the two beside him, then back to Celeste. "Begin."

Celeste charged head first into her teammates, slamming her fists into the ground to create a shockwave. Owen and D'art were sent flying, while Eve dodged their leader's opening attack, striking back with her chain. The chain struck Celeste once across her face, causing her to stumble back. "Any chance you two could get up and help?" Eve asked, dryly. Owen and D'art pulled themselves up, dusting off their clothes.

"Eve" Owen shouted out "she's going to try and grab your next strike, be careful!" Eve nodded looking back at Celeste, who was prepared to do whatever it took to win. Eve stood still for a moment, then sent the chain wrapping around Celeste's ankles. The brawler tried to grab the it, but missed causing her to be dragged across the dirt floor. As she was being dragged towards her opponents, Celeste tried to break the chain, attacking the metal repeatedly each time striking harder and faster. Suddenly the dragging stopped, briefly giving Celeste a moment to get up before Eve pulled again, knocking Celeste to the floor. Tired of being humiliated, Celeste pulled the chain back, flinging Eve to her like a Ragdoll. Celeste grabbed Eve's shoulder with one hand, draining the aura from her.

"Owen, flank her!" D'art called out, Owen nodded, running to the left of Celeste. Eve groaned, falling to her knees in pain. Seeing this, Owen jumped up, kicking Celeste away from his fallen teammate. D'art rushed over to Eve, trying to help her in any possible way. Owen overwhelmed Celeste with a flurry of stabs, hitting high and low forcing her to drop Eve's chain to defend herself. Celeste caught a lucky break as Owen went back to trying to read her thoughts. 'I'll kick him in the face so hard he'll need new cybernetics' she thought, preparing a kick. Reading this, Owen prepared to block the kick. Instead, Celeste charged up a punch that sent Owen crashing into the arena wall. "Hey, c'mon. I've got an idea." D'art said to Eve as he helped her off the ground. Celeste strolled towards Owen who was slowly standing back up using the wall for support.

Owen took in the sight of their seething leader and looked nervously to D'art. ' _Well_ ' he communicated to D'art through his telepathy ' _What are we going to do now?'_

D'art nodded at Owen. ' _Keep her busy in the center of the arena. Eve and I have a plan."_

Owen sighed and turned back to his opponent "Cmon Celeste" Owen taunted half heartedly "can't you keep up with me? You're looking a little slow." Celeste revved up another punch, but Owen struck first, repeatedly hitting her in the chest and sending her into the center of the arena as planned.

"Now!" D'art shouted at Eve. Nodding at his command Eve threw the chain at Celeste. It wrapped tightly around her arms and torso, restricting most of her movement. D'art took aim with his rifle and charged a powerful electrical blast, which upon contact spread throughout the metal chain and shocked its target. While she was distracted by the pain and desire to move Owen delivered a finishing blow, sending Celeste crumbling to the floor.

Celeste stood, after her teammates had beaten her, and removed the chain from around her. "That was a good fight, though you left yourself open," Owen said offering his hand out to Celeste.

"I don't need your help," She said as she slapped his hand away. "I can take care of myself." She felt a hand on her shoulder as she was standing up.

Looking up she saw Dart, "He was just trying to help. No need to be so harsh."

Celeste shrugged off his hand. "I don't care, and don't touch me. I'm perfectly capable of picking myself up."

She sensed the approach of Eve behind her. "Just because you lost doesn't mean you can act like a child." Celeste didn't turn to look at her; instead she hurriedly made her way out of the training arena.

* * *

Celeste made her way down the halls, mumbling to herself as she was walking. In her mumbling to self moment of not paying attention, she found herself bumping into something. She fell backwards, and looked up to see what she had run into. Standing before her was Riliane, looking around to see what she had run into. Celeste stood up, and brushed herself off. "You okay?" she asked Riliane.

"Oh! I'm so sorry if I caused you any trouble. I don't exactly have the best eyesight. My name is Riliane. May I ask yours?"

Celeste looked at her with a questioning expression. "It's me, Celeste."

Embarrassment showed for a brief second but was quickly replaced as a small smile appeared on Riliane's face. "Oh, funny bumping into you." She paused for a second taking in the other girl's heavy breathing and exhausted tone. "Coming back from some training?" she guessed.

"If you could even call it that. I thought it would be a good idea for the team to having sparring matches to learn how we all fight. It was going pretty well, I won the singular fights, but then they had to challenge me to a 3-on-1 fight. And of course I lost." Celeste continued on. Riliane stood listening and 'watching' her. She didn't exactly know what the other leader was talking about, but as she did want to befriend the girl she knew she should at least listen to her. "So anyway," Celeste looked up to Riliane. "What are doing around here?"

"I decided to do a bit of exploring and there is a good chance that I may be a little lost," Riliane said, poking her fingers together. Celeste chuckled lightly. "But if I may ask, what is so wrong with you losing?" Riliane asked tilting her head quizzically.

"The point of training is to get stronger. How am I supposed to do that if I lose?" Celeste asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, you don't train with the intention that you are always going to win." The blind girl responded acting like it was something super obvious "You train so you can get back up when you end up having to." Smiling brightly at the brawler she continued, "So to answer your question, you get stronger by losing and learning from your mistakes."

Celeste looked to the ground. "Yeah. I suppose you're right. Though it still doesn't feel good to lose." As the two girls had been talking, the remainder of team CODE had made their way out to the hallway in search of their leader.

'Seeing' the rest of Celeste's team approaching Riliane smiled "I'll leave you to settle things with your team then, I should be heading back to my dorm anyways," waving a short goodbye she started to walk away calling back "It was nice talking to you."

"Hey Riliane," Celeste called out to her. "Yes?" Riliane called back. "The dorms are the other way."


	7. Chapter 6

Eve was always the first one up. Staying up with the others, and getting up the earliest. She would tiptoe out of the dorm, go down to the cafeteria to grab some coffee, finish the estimated homework for the day, and change in time for the others to get up. Yes she didn't get much sleep. And yes she took several naps.

This morning was no different. As Eve carefully opened the door to the dorm, she stepped over the sleeping bodies on the ground, taking a casual sip of her coffee. Everyone had stayed up until 4 in the morning, high on caffeine. D'art moaned, rolling on his side, his chocolate brown hair was a nest. Eve stared at him, then at the rest of her teammates. Then she grabbed a black marker that sat on the nightstand. Carefully, she knelt besides Celeste, pulling the cap off.

A few minutes later she threw on her jacket, grabbing her bag and swinging it over her shoulder. Her lips curled a little when she saw the faces of her teammates. And just like that, Eve left as quietly as she came in.

A few minutes later.

"You asked for me, Professor?" Eve asked, closing the door behind her.

"I did yes, I didn't expect you to come until after classes though." Ozpin admitted, peering at her from above his crooked glasses.

"The school is peaceful around this time." She explained, taking a seat. Eve had never been in Ozpin's office. The whole room was quite nice. A window overlooked Vale, with clockwork mechanisms ticking softly under a floor of glass. Green lights were stationed on the walls, giving off a soft emerald glow.

"So Eve" Ozpin said, setting down his mug of coffee for a moment "have you been working on what I asked of you at the start of the year?"

Eve shook a little, nervous. Calming herself, she set her mug next to his. "Yes. I'm working closely with my team." Ozpin nodded, taking back up his cup. Eve and Ozpin shared a long sip of their mugs, the noises of clockwork and slurping filling the office.

"I trust you're also keeping up on your classes." Ozpin said, leaning in across his desk.

Eve nodded. "Yes sir. I make sure never to be late to any of my classes."

Ozpin smiled a little, leaning back into his normal position. "Fantastic, Ms. Glamis... Would you mind answering a few questions for me?" Eve nodded again, relaxing a little more, but still on edge. "What do you think makes a team valuable?" Ozpin asked, motioning towards Eve with his mug.

Eve sat silent in thought for a second, and then stared back at Ozpin. "Teamwork and precision." She said defiantly to the headmaster.

Ozpin slowly nodded, as if he took a mental note. "If you could describe your partner in a word or two, what would it be?"

Eve gave a small smile, quickly returning to her serious tone. "D'art is….an acquired taste."

Ozpin chuckled, quickly shaking his head in agreement. "Ok. One final question if you're up for it." He said, sitting up tall.

Eve straightened up, trying to meet his eye level. "Yes sir?"

"Tell me. What do you know about the organization called Humanity?" He asked, leaning forward, his golden eyes glinting.

In the silence that followed his question, Eve's eyes widened. She thought she wouldn't hear that name again. Not here. Not in this school. Her palms became sweaty as they formed into fists.

"Miss Glamis?" Ozpin asked, his amber eyes observing her closely, as if he was studying her reaction.

"Yes, my apologies." Eve said abruptly, keeping her eyes locked onto his. She thought quickly about her next words, choosing them carefully. "I'm surprised you know of it."

"I have connections." Ozpin replied calmly.

"And what exactly do you know about it?" Eve asked.

Ozpin chuckled. "Come now, don't answer my question with a question."

Eve smiled politely. "I had to try didn't I?" She looked down. "It's hard for me to talk about."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "Take your time."

Eve hesitated. "I do know information pertaining to that organization. But I have nothing to do with them."

"Except occasionally torturing them for the whereabouts of your parents."

Eve bit her lip. "I stopped that."

"What information do you know?" Ozpin asked casually.

"Not much-"

"Miss Glamis." Ozpin said calmly. Eve's jaw twitched and she sighed.

"I know about their operations and their motives." She replied.

"Wonderful." He responded, setting his mug on the desk and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Tell me all you know."

"They're anti-faunus." Eve stated, looking up to meet his eyes. "Extremely anti-faunus. They're dangerous." Ozpin nodded slowly.

"Any names?"

Eve opened her mouth to reply but no words came out. Even now, a small bond of loyalty connected her. A weight dropped in her stomach and she swallowed.

"No."

Ozpin's amber eyes gleamed at her. "Are you sure?"

"I can't remember them." Eve lied. No, she remembered them all. Every major member. She could never forget. Their names were burned into her mind in flaming, crimson letters.

"Very well. What about their operations?"

"They never did anything major. They wanted to stay in the dark until they had gathered enough members and influence. And then when they were ready, they wanted to do something big. Something that would draw everyone's attention to them. Usually they sent members to interrupt faunus peace rallies, to 'subdue' faunus figureheads, to kidnap children with potential, whether they were faunus or not. And then they'd have others train them." Eve explained, her voice hard.

"How were the children treated?" Ozpin asked.

"Horribly." Eve explained, her fists tightening. "Like slaves. They would work them for days, training them until they bled. And those who weren't strong enough were killed." She explained.

Something in Ozpin's expression changed, but it was so small that Eve barely noticed it at all.

"Those who were lucky enough to survive didn't have it any better. They were raised like cult children. Told that the faunus were horrible, they grew up with that constant belief. They received no love, and were raised like machines. And when Humanity was done, they were machines. Killing machines." Eve finished.

"Didn't they make any effort to escape?" Ozpin asked calmly.

"Of course they did." Eve replied, her voice sharp. "The young ones constantly tried to run. None of them succeeded. You can imagine their punishment-" She stopped talking and took a quick breath, as if she was surprised at how much she had said.

"Thank you Miss Glamis." Said Ozpin. "I'm sorry, I know this was hard for you to talk about."

Eve waved her hand dismissively.

"I have a few more questions, I hope you don't mind. What were the missions like?" He questioned.

Eve was silent, a mask of pain on her face. The missions. It had been years since she had thought about them.

"Miss Glamis?" Ozpin asked. But his voice was far away, Eve couldn't hear him or see him. The missions. One in particular blossomed in her mind.

...

A group of three sat in the corner of an old inn. The corner cast a long shadow over them, the candle on the table illuminating their bodies. Irritated, Eve watched the raven haired man besides her take a sip of her mug.

"I paid for that you ass." She muttered, her eyes sliding away.

"You're too young to drink." The man replied, chuckling wyrlily. Eve's fingers tapped on the table impatiently.

"Stop it." Hissed the smaller girl next to her.

"Oh come on Jade, he stole my drink." Eve whined softly.

"Concentrate on the mission." Jade breathed. Her slitted amber eyes were focused on a customer who sat across the room from them, their back was facing the three.

"He hasn't done anything yet. And we don't even know if it's him for sure." Eve murmured. The man glanced distastefully at her.

"Stop whining." Eve bit her lip.

"Why did we get assigned to this mission again?" Jade asked. Her tone was cold and withdrawn.

"They were out of people." Replied the man. "And her first mission." He added, jabbing Eve's side who smiled sarcastically at him.

Before anyone could say something, the customer suddenly stood up. They dropped cash on the table, shoving their hands in their pockets as they stalked out of the door.

"There they go." The man murmured, taking a final swig of the mug before he stood up casually. "Wait a little bit, and then follow me." The man said before he disappeared through the door.

"Since when did Vincent make the decisions?" Eve asked, giving Jade a glance.

"You talk too much for a newbie." Jade snarled. Eve frowned.

"I don't actually. You two are just stoic." She observed, as Jade pulled out her scroll.

"Everyone in Humanity is stoic." Jade replied. Eve ignored her.

"Isn't it bad for going undercover? Just think about it, we all have black hair. We all have mean gazes, we're all stoic." Eve said, grabbing the mug Vincent had left and drinking the remaining sips. "And, we're all part of a cult." She finished. Jade glared at her, then she stared at the mug and blinked.

"You're trying to get drunk aren't you?" She asked. Eve shook the mug a little, returning the disdainful gaze.

"Uh, 'bout to be."

"I can't believe it" Jade whispered, her face a mask of exasperation.

"What?"

"You're only thirteen!" Jade hissed, struggling to keep her voice low. "This is your first mission, and you're drinking on the job?"

"I wouldn't drink if I knew it was going to be difficult." Eve observed with an uneasy chuckle. "Besides! It's just a few sips."

Jade scoffed, grabbing the mug and drinking the rest of it herself. Eve stared at her with parted lips.

"I was going to finish that." Eve said quietly.

"Get your ass out there." Jade hissed.

"You're not even that much older than me." Eve snapped as she stood, strolling out of the inn, Jade close behind her.

As the two walked down the street, trying to find Vincent, they heard a muffled cry of pain from a nearby alleyway.

"There they are." Jade called out, dragging Eve by the sleeve down the dark path.

A faunus boy was on the ground, his back against the wall as he snarled at Vincent who stood above him.

"You sure that's him?" Jade asked, her arms crossed. Vincent didn't answer, instead he lunged for the boy who cried out, grabbing him by the shirt.

"I'll ask again. What is your name?" Vincent breathed.

The boy spat in his face, his cat like orange eyes glimmering with pride. "Screw you." He hissed bitterly. Vincent rubbed the spit off slowly with his free hand. He looked towards the two girls.

"This is him."

"How can you tell?" Eve asked.

"His eyes." A smirk tugged on Vincent's lips as he stared at the boy. "I just wanted to see what he would say. Vincent pulled the faunus upwards, ramming his head into the wall. The boy's legs collapsed before Vincent threw him over his shoulder.

"That was a little much." Eve observed.

"He's just unconscious." Vincent said, bored.

"Then our job here is done, let's get back to headquarters." Jade began to turn around.

Vincent put his arm up and Jade stopped abruptly. "What?" She asked. Instead of responding, he simply stared into the alleyway. It was engulfed in shadows, the silhouette of ladders and fire escapes made an intricate web of blacks and greys. Lights from the city could be seen on the other side, flickering brilliantly.

When Eve observed it closer, she realized that some of the shadows were moving. Vincent dropped the boy carelessly, getting out his spear and slamming it into the ground. The group listened intently, their nerves buzzing. Then they heard a sound so soft, it was almost inaudible. The drawing of a bowstring.

"Move." Said Vincent. He tilted his head slightly to dodge a whistling arrow. Eve and Jade quickly moved to the side, getting out their weapons.

"I'll get them from the back." Jade whispered as she climbed up the fire escape. Vincent made no comment, his eyes narrowing.

"What do you want?" He questioned, his voice echoing against the wet walls. There was silence. A drop of water could be heard, splashing onto the cement. Then there was a voice.

"Give him back."

Vincent frowned. "I'm afraid we can't do that."

"Then we'll have to kill you."

...

Eve blinked and she was back in the room, the clock ticking calmly. She tried to recall the rest of the memory, but failed miserably. Ozpin was staring at her, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Eve's nerves were buzzing.

"Yes, my apologies."

"No, I'm afraid I've kept you here too long. I should have stopped pestering a while ago." Ozpin replied with a warm smile. "Thank you for the information. You may go now."

"Of course." Eve stood up, brushing off her coat and nodding briskly before exiting the room.

Ozpin waited a few seconds after she had exited, the clock ticking ominously in the silence. He spun his chair around, thoughtfully staring at the view of the city. Suddenly he heard the door open. He heard the sound of heels clicking on the glass tiles. He didn't need to look to know who it was.

"Glynda…" Ozpin said, turning his chair towards her. "Call James for me."

Silent, Eve stood there, her back to the door. The hallway loomed before her, light pouring in from the windows, covering the tiles with a light gloss. Eve took a shuddering breath covering her face.

"Why did I remember that memory?" She whispered, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Eve?" A timid voice asked. Eve looked up, surprised to see Xanthic staring at her. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I have.

"I'm fine." She replied quickly. "You're up early."

"You too." He responded with a shy smile. The two were engulfed in silence. Finally Eve spoke.

"I'm going to head back to the dorm, see you in class."

"Oh...bye." Xanthic called out.

* * *

Ozpin paced around his desk, peering in and out over his scroll. "You're sure?" Ozpin asked, pacing back and forth.

"Yes," Ironwood said over the scroll. "We have no intel that implies this 'Humanity' is anything that poses a threat. It's an organization that's based on racist principles made of kids too young to understand anything, mercenaries who want money, and veterans too old to see that times are changing. No one capable of anything dangerous."

Ozpin sighed. "I just spoke to one of my students. When she talked about them...there was terror in her eyes."

Ironwood took a moment of pause. "Do you think she could have been lying?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No, she was scared, James. Terrified."

Ironwood took in a big breath. "They've been sending in fake threats," He explained as he signed some papers. "All of my spies and intel says they're an unorganized group with no real power. I'm sure all they can do is throw some propaganda or some slurs. Even then you can just remove them."

Ozpin took in everything, looked outside his window. He watched the students scurry to class, move from building to building. A Faunus girl had dropped her books, tripping over some of the sidewalk. A boy broke off from his friends, helping her pick the books up. "I just want the kids to be safe." Ozpin said, solemnly.

Ironwood came back in over the scroll. "And that's fine. But we want them to be safe too. Look, I'll be in town soon and get a progress report. We can catch up and see if you still believe that they're a threat. If so I can send troops-"

Ozpin interjected over the phone. "No. No troops. That just makes us more of a target to others. We'll just see where this goes." Ironwood wanted to say something, but kept to himself. "I'll call you later James." Ozpin hung up the scroll, looking back over the courtyard. The girl who dropped her books joined the boys group. Across the courtyard from them a cat Faunus boy was being teased, his tail being pulled by a crowd of older boys. A teacher rushed over to break up the bullying. "Glynda, do you think we're doing the right thing?"

Glynda peered up from her notebook, closing it. "It's like you said" she said, standing next to Ozpin "We'll just see where this goes."

* * *

Eve stormed down the hallway, her mind whirling. Vincent and Jade. Were they still alive? Hatred and guilt struck her simultaneously and she bit her lip. Her time in Humanity had become a faded nightmare over the years. But now it was vivid and real. Chills swept over her skin as she reached for the knob to her room. She wanted to forget about it all, but now-

The door swung open and Eve came face to face with a surprised Celeste in the doorway.

"Guys she's here." Celeste called out. Two very pissed boys appeared besides her. D'art and Owen. All three had ridiculous black markings on their faces. Celeste had cat whiskers, D'art had a moustache, and Owen had a monocle.

Eve stared at them blankly. "Right." She muttered, having forgotten the prank.

"This isn't over Glamis." D'art snapped, pointing at her. "I'll have my revenge." Eve wasn't in the mood for any of this however, her eyes hardened and she brushed past them.

"You're not coming?" Owen asked.

"I'm going to stay a bit, I'll be there when class starts." Eve called out, slumping on her bed.

"What's up with her?" D'art asked quietly.

"Eve, hurry up. We always get breakfast together." Celeste snapped, leaning against the doorway. But Eve didn't respond, her face was muffled in her pillow and she made no move to follow them.

With a frown Celeste turned towards the hallway. "Fine, but you better not be late to class."

After the sound of footsteps had faded, Eve looked up slowly. Already, her team was forgotten. Images of her past swirled around in her mind as Eve grabbed her pillow, clutching it to her chest. In the silence of her bedroom, she hoped that it would all disappear again. That she could temporarily erase those years from her mind. But this time, those memories would not fade away. And she was left with an unshakable feeling of dread.

And then, something came to her. The figment of the memory she had before, so vague and unfamiliar that she could barely recall it. It was as if it was covered in a blanket of fog. Despite herself, Eve tried to remember the rest of what had happened.

...

"Then we're going to have to kill you." The voice had said, it was smooth and feminine, with traces of a strong accent. Chills swept across Eve's skin as her grip tightened on her whip. Vincent, however, was unscathed.

"Come and get us." He replied calmly, yanking his double sided spear out of the cement. It glowed neon green in the darkness, leaving a trail wherever it moved. The shadows dashed forward, their movements quick and careful.

Vincent lowered his voice considerably. "Listen to me," He said. "This is extremely close quarters, don't use your whip, only the sword on it. Understand?"

"Yes." Eve breathed.

"Good." Vincent parried a slash, spinning his spear carelessly and kicking his opponent. Eve jumped over him, landing on a dumpster and dodging another arrow. Her gaze shifted to a small outline in the back of the alleyway, the archer.

"Don't worry about her." Vincent snapped, dodging a blow. Eve jumped off the dumpster, clashing with one of the shadows. As her opponent lunged towards her with his claws, Eve stepped to her right, snatching his outstretched arm and slamming him into the wall. The shadow made a hiss of pain, grabbing her sword with his bare hands as Eve made an attempt to split his skull. His aura couldn't last much longer.

"Who are you." She snarled.

The shadow kicked her shin, throwing Eve off balance as he backhanded her with his claws. Eve was slammed into the dumpster with a grunt. Pain flashed through her head as she dodged another swipe of his claws. Her eyes shifted briefly to the moving neon spear, Vincent was busy fending off two.

There was an agonizing scream of pain from the end of the alleyway, Eve quickly glanced down it. Jade's silhouette stood there, her katana embedded in the archer's chest. Jade was still for a brief second. Then she took the sword out cleanly, kicking the body away before sprinting towards the rest of the fight.

Eve parried another slash, kicking the legs of her opponent and forcing him to stagger. Using her semblance and his momentum, Eve moved her hand forward. Her opponent was sent flying back, slamming into one of the other shadows. Vincent took the distraction as an opportunity, enlarging his blades as he sliced clean through one opponent.

Eve gripped her sword tightly, about to slash one of her enemies. However, before Eve could do so, a shadow flew over her, landing behind her. Spinning around, Eve's eyes widened as their claws moved towards their throat. And then there was a flash of movement. A girl fell onto her opponent, claw like blades outstretched. Blood splattered across the walls. Eve couldn't help but gasp in surprise as the girl stood up slowly.

"Yukina?" Eve asked, breathless. The girl had pink hair, visible in the small ray of moonlight she was standing in. She wore a white sweater, on her back was the hood which had stitched on cat ears. After staring at the body under her seemingly dazed for a second Yukina turned towards Eve, her blue eyes blinking.

"H-Hello." She said softly. Behind her, Vincent finished off the last shadow, his eyes moving towards Yukina and narrowing.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, his voice dripping with acid.

"This was Eve's first mission." Yukina stated quickly.

"Your point? Not only did you follow us without permission, but you also interrupted the fight, which could have hurt not only the enemy but us as well, if you were careless."

Yukina flinched a little. "I'm sorry."

"What's going on?" Jade asked, confused. As Eve moved aside, a flash of recognition passed across Jade's face.

"She followed us without permission." Vincent snapped.

Jade frowned. "You should know better, Yukina."

"I was worried." Yukina said quickly, retracting her claws. Eve realized that blood was already splattered across her hoodie. A flicker of sadness came across her. She had told Yukina she didn't want any blood on it. "Eve had been training for it and she didn't seem herself. I wanted to follow so nothing would happen-"

"I don't care." Vincent replied, his grip on his spear visibly tightened. Vincent was terrifying when he was furious. Not because he would yell or threaten you, but because of his demeanor and appearance. The way his pupils would get smaller, the way his jaw twitched. Jade fidgeted slightly.

"You broke the code, and for that you will be punished." He hissed, turning around towards the entrance. He hauled the boy with amber eyes over his shoulder, strolling out the alleyway. Jade followed quickly behind him.

"I'm sorry." Yukina whispered, as the two girls slowly walked out. Eve was silent. She felt ashamed and angry. But she was also grateful.

"Thank you."

Yukina nodded. "I would do it again."

"No," Eve said, turning to look at her friend. "Don't do that again. Ever." Yukina blinked. "Don't you understand?" Eve snapped, blood rushing up to her face. "You're going to be badly punished for this."

"I know." Yukina whispered.

"You can't worry about me like this. Humanity isn't a place where you can afford to worry about others."

"I know."

"And how do you think I feel? I've trained for this first mission for months, I thought it was going to be easy. I was slacking off. And without you I would have died." Eve's voice shook, she took a deep breath. "I can't rely on others, not anymore."

"I just want to help you the way you helped me." Yukina said softly. Eve opened her mouth to argue, but because Yukina seemed so painfully despondent, Eve couldn't bring herself to. So instead, Eve closed her mouth, facing forward.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay."

"I'm just worried for you. The punishment for this is going to be-"

Yukina interrupted her. "I'll be fine."

"Be strong." Eve whispered, her throat tightened.

"As long as you're there, I will be." Yukina replied, smiling at her friend.

The two girls walked into the street, the moonlight casting a luminous glow on their faces. Hand in hand, they made their way back home.

* * *

The door to the dorm opened softly, and a concerned D'art, Owen, and Celeste walked in, food in hand. It was lunch time, and Eve hadn't attended any of the classes.

"Look, she's sleeping, that lazy bum." Celeste snapped as the group walked over to Eve's bed.

"She might have had a rough morning." D'art replied.

Celeste sighed. "I can never tell what's going through her head."

"I can check." Owen offered, Celeste jabbed him in the ribs. "Ow."

"I don't want to wake her though." D'art said thoughtfully.

"Then don't." Owen added. "She can catch up with homework later." Celeste gently put her tray down on Eve's bedside.

"What're you doing?" D'art asked. Celeste flushed a little.

"S-She's probably hungry, so she can have my food." Owen and D'art stared at Celeste, surprised. Catching their gaze, she stuttered. "I-I'm only doing this because I didn't like the food." With a huff she turned to walk out of the room.

"But you love fruit salad." D'art replied, following her.

"Shuddup!"

Owen lingered at Eve's bedside, his eyes slightly widened. The girl was curled up on her side, her pillow hugged close to her chest. Her black hair was sprawled unevenly on the bedside. On her face was the most unguarded expression he had ever seen from her. A smile tugged at his lips as he turned to follow his teammates.


	8. Chapter 7

Owen moved from class to class, feeling the eyes of his classmates drift to him as he moved. His eye glowed red as he moved through the crowded halls, drawing more and more attention. Eventually, Owen ran into a bathroom, the stares overwhelming him. "Um. Hi." Celeste said, peeping up from one of the sinks.

"Celeste, what are you doing, this is the guys restroom."

Celeste peaked her head around the bathroom, then back to Owen. "Check again, roboy."

Owen looked around. He was in the girls. "Aw man..." he said, leaning against the wall and sighing.

"It's cool, I won't tell anyone." Celeste said. Owen nodded in appreciation, then moved back to the halls. "Hey!" Celeste called back out to Owen. "Are you ok? You've been making a lot of mistakes recently." Owen nodded his head yes, less confident than he tried to be. Owen quickly left the bathroom, trying his best to blend into the crowd.

* * *

"...and I'm just worried about him." Celeste said, walking with D'art.

D'art turned to face celeste head on. "I mean, I can try talking to him about it, but I'm not so sure."

Celeste tilted her head. "Aren't you guys 'bros' or whatever?"

D'art scoffed a little. "I mean I want to be good friends but, it's hard to start a conversation or joke when he can find my point or punch line in my head."

Celeste, about to argue, stopped in her tracks. She heard something in the dorm. She turned to D'art, putting a finger to her lips. The two creeped through their dorm, trying not to wake Eve as she got much needed sleep. The noise got louder, a sort of whirring and banging. Celeste tripped slightly, warning D'art of the bag at her feet. D'art nodded, then tripped over it and fell to his face. The two looked up, mortified at waking either of their partners. "I told you to watch out!" Celeste whispered.

"It's a big bag!" D'art shouted back in a hushed tone. Suddenly, the banging stopped, and the whirring started back up. It was Owen's arm extending over his bed, fidgeting and glitching on his nightstand. "Poor guy." D'art said, sighing. "I wonder what's going on in his head."

Owen was thrown back through his memories, falling between birthdays and friendships. Then the falling stops, focusing in on his earliest memory he knew: his family.

* * *

"C'mon Owen! You'll be late for work with dad!" Owen's mother called out, quickly making waffles.

Owen ran down the stairs, quickly grabbing the waffles. "What are these?" Owen asked.

"Waffles." His mom said, returning to the kitchen.

"Why?" Owen retorted with a mouthful of breakfast.

"Um..." his mom struggled to answer, "Just. Because! Now hurry, run on down to the mine and catch up with your father." Owen smiled, running out the door putting on his boots and tying the laces. Large deposits of coal were sprinkled around the mining community, black dots on an industrial face of a community. Owen ran past bakers delivering bread to workers, wives seeing off their husbands to the mine, and children learning on site. Everyone worked in some way for the dust mine.

Owen ran up to his dad, giving him a slight hug. "Hey Owen! How's it going? Ready for a day of work?" Owen nodded, putting on his hat like everyone else. As he approached the elevator, a man in a white lab coat stuck out among the dirty clothes of the workers. He was talking to the foreman, waving a clipboard in anger. Soon he moved into the elevator, the light from the sun slipping away into the florescent lights dotting the shaft downwards.

...

"...and this, this is Dust." Owens dad explained underground. Workers toiled, pickaxes flooding the cave system. "This stuff makes people like you and me into heroes." Owen stared in amazement, moving it around his hands.

"Did you ever use it?"

Owens father chuckled, tussling his hair. "Of course son. But I met your mother, and we moved here in vacuo. Then we had you, and that was the best decision I've ever made." Owen smiled back at his dad. "Now," his dad said, pointing to a wall, "Get mining, that deposit should be easy." Owen saluted, getting to work. Suddenly, a rumble came from the ground, shaking each and every person to their core. Then it stopped, the dust settling once again.

"It's just a tremor, people!" A supervisor called out to the workers. "Nothing to worry about." Owen kept talking to the workers, asking their names and what they liked to do while handing their axes. Another tremor happened, knocking the workers to their feet. "Chris, what's happening?" The supervisor called over his radio, sweat falling from his head. "ITS A GOD DAMN zzzzzzVE COLLAPS...OH SH-" rocks crumbled over the radio. "EVERYONE TO THE ELEVATOR NOW!" Everyone packed in, tight as a can of sardines.

"Where's Owen...OWEN?!" Owen ran to his father's voice, dodging rock after rock. Suddenly Owen stopped. He was pinned. He struggled to move, hearing his father's voice muffled by the sounds of the mine collapsing Owen looked up towards his dad and the light, before a boulder rolled over it like a night sky.

...

Owen woke up soon in a whited out room, surrounded by technicians and doctors. "I want to see him. Right. Now." A voice called out to Owen's left. Owen tried to rotate his head, but it wouldn't budge. He tried to roll his eyes over, to see what was going on. But he couldn't see out of his right eye. He tried to clench his fists in anger, but only one formed on his left.

"I...I can't feel..." he gasped, "My..arm...dad?!" He cried out struggling to get up setting off several alarms from the nearby machines. Quickly two nurses held him down and inserted a syringe into his remaining arm putting him back under.

...

Owen drifted in and out of consciousness, nurses and doctors clamoring over his body. He could hear the muffled cries of his mom, his dad screaming at the doctors, the sense of his body being rushed into an operating room. Owen looked deep into his dad's eyes and only seeing fear. Fear of losing his son. Two guards grabbed him, dragging Owen's dad kicking and screaming back to the viewing area. He saw something in the corner of his left eye, a metal plate close over his right eye. With that he returned to darkness, drifting in and out of the surgery.

...

Owen woke again, feeling numb. He was once again in the white room, but nothing was tying him to the table. He looked around the room, his vision was blurry yet somewhat sharper than normal. As if in response to his revival a man in a lab coat entered the room smiling brightly. "Ah, Owen. You're awake! Fantastic, how do you feel?." Owen reached out to grab the side of the bed to sit up and then he saw it. His right arm was completely metal. Freezing in place for a second he slowly moved his arm closer to his face staring at it in shock "It's ok Owen" the man said, pulling out a clipboard and. "Do you remember what happened?" Owen ignored him, still studying his arm.

"Oh!" He finally answered, realizing he was ignoring him. "Uh, I think… the mine collapsed. And my arm was..." Owen said, going back to staring at his prosthetic.

"Yes, caught under a boulder. More rubble from the collapse crushed the majority of the right side of your body, including your eye. But worry not! We've added in a cybernetic eye. It's got thermal, night, and enhanced vision." Owen proceeded to touch his face, the metal chilling his human hand to its core.

"...but why?" Owen finally asked, staring back to the man.

"I want to help you Owen. Give you another shot at living. Maybe even turn you into the best huntsman the world's ever seen.

Owen's eyes lit up. "Huntsman?"

He adjusted his glasses. "Yes, someone who helps everyone. Don't you want to do that?" Owen tilted his head. He always did want to leave home sometime.

"But, my parents. They'll be worried."

The man in the coat stood up from his chair, pacing around the white room. "Don't worry. They know you're safe here at atlas. They've signed whatever paperwork that needed to be signed." He said staring back at Owen. "So" he said, offering Owen a hand "do you want to become the best?" Owen took his hand, smiling.

* * *

3 years passed. Owen worked harder than ever, trying to master his new cybernetics. His family came to visit, the parents bringing food and gifts from his old home. He learned everything he could about his new body, how to fix it, how to move with it, how to use it. It was another training day, when a new technician came in. Owen dropped everything, moving to meet him. "Hello..?" The scientist left a letter in the room, walking out and locking the room behind him. Owen picked up the letter, reading it carefully. Suddenly his calm turned to blind rage, smashing furniture and walls with his cybernetics. He destroyed anything not bolted to the floor. He rushed over to a panel on the wall containing everything his parents gifted him. He raised a fist, then let is hang. He fell to the floor crying. 'Why didn't they accept me...?' He kept muttering in his head, fighting back more and more tears. Another technician came in, stepping over the rubble Owen caused. Owen recognized this one as the one from the mining field all those years ago. "You..." he said, picking him up in another fit of anger. "WHY DIDN'T YOU ACCEPT ME!? YOU TOOK ME AWAY FROM MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR NOTHING!" The technician, gasping for air, motioned to his pocket. Owen grabbed another letter from the pocket, dropping him to the floor. "What?" He said opening it. The white paper had a simple message inscribed: "Dear Owen Williams, I have a simple proposal for a bright student like you, to come to an academy for the best and brightest, Beacon." -Professor Ozpin


	9. Chapter 8

Ozpin's voice came in over the PA system, soothing the hectic halls and rowdy students. "A friendly reminder, children," his calm voice said, echoing across each hall in unison. "Our freshman field trip this year will be to La Crête, or The Ridge as some know it. The leaders of the Ridge and Vale have negotiated a Declaration of Independence, so select freshmen will have the opportunity to go to this new formed country and celebrate this momentous occasion. Thank you." As Ozpin's voice whined out from the speakers, students murmured and chattered, wondering who would be the select groups. One student screamed with joy, cutting through the gasps and whispers. It was D'art, excited. He could finally visit home. He shot out through the crowds, running the fastest he could. D'art was oblivious to the destruction he caused in his wake, knocking over five fellow students in his rush. He ran into his dorm, waking Eve from one of her naps.

"...D'art? What's going on..?" She asked, still in a haze from her dreams and nightmares. D'art didn't answer, shuffling through his bed and luggage and pulling out a hunting knife.

"I get to go home. I get to go home! Je peux vous montrer tous les gars! La chasse, la nourriture, les gens! Oh, c'est fantastique!" D'art blurbed out, speeding to pack. Eve just went back to sleep, ignoring her crazed partner. "I wonder if ROXA is going!" He shouted, running down to their dorm. He rushed to their door, knocking on the door like a woodpecker on a tree.

Olive opened the door, excited with D'art. She shrieked in joy, shaking D'art. "Oh my gosh!" She shouted.

D'art was so excited he was shaking. "You know why I'm so excited?" D'art said, calming down a little.

Olive shook her head. "No! It's just good to be happy about stuff!"

D'art moved into ROXA's room, looking for everyone else. "I can't believe it. We can all go to my house, to the rivers..." D'art froze. He realized he wasn't in the list for certain. He rushed back out of the ROXA dorm, running towards Ozpin's office. He jumped up and down in the elevator, barely able to keep his excitement. The door opened to Ozpin working in a calm peace, the slow ticking of the clock keeping him company. D'art shattered this peace rushing through to Ozpin's desk. "Monsieur Ozpin, is my team on the list for the trip?" Ozpin slowly pulled up a piece of paper.

"Yes." He replied back, his calm voice only making D'art more excited. Before D'art could ask his next question, Ozpin raised a hand. "And team ROXA will go as well."

D'art pumped his fist in celebration, running back to the elevator. "Oh I've got to pack! There's so much to bring, maybe I can do some hunting, orevengoonthehistoricrouteifigetachancetoimsoexcited..."

* * *

A week passed and the halls of Beacon had been filled with excitement from the students fortunate enough to travel to The Ridge and envy from those who weren't. Now the day was upon them and with no one wanting to be the first to piss off Glynda, the students contained their excitement as they boarded the airship. Just after takeoff Olive and D'art decided to have official introductions between their teams, even though they had all met briefly before. They shared conversation similar to the rest of the passengers about how thrilled they were, D'art shared everything he possibly could about The Ridge with his team and new friends. He had just finished a brief history when he noticed that Xanthic wasn't paying any attention to him. The blond boy's leg was shaking and D'art leaned towards Olive, "Is he usually like that?"

"He's afraid of flying," Owen said.

"N-no I'm not," Xanthic protested quietly. "I just really don't like this model. O-of all the ships Beacon has this one has the least amount of windows including a lack of observation deck."

"So?" Celeste asked.

"I- I'm just used to my family's ship… One of the walls is completely open."

"Your family has their own airship!?" All seven students were astonished.

"Ye-yeah… With all the traveling we do it's just… cost effective." Xanthic shifted uncomfortably as he got that "rich kid" feeling again and attempted to change the subject, "So um… I- I was kinda curious a-about some things D'artagnan and I-" He stopped when he saw everyone's stares turn to confusion. "What?"

"How did you know my full name?" D'art asked the question they were all wondering.

"Oh, well… Y'see my parents have been trying to figure out a marketing strategy with La Crête for a while now since they're the only country without any scroll technology, save the diplomats, so when I heard about this trip I decided to learn what I could beforehand. I figure "D'artagnan" isn't a very common name… so you're the fourth guardsman, aren't you?"

D'art was a bit shocked, he hadn't expected anyone to actually do research on him. He was also slightly weirded out by Xanthic's surprisingly calm demeanor when talking about his family's business. But he quickly returned to himself and responded proudly, "That's right. I'm the youngest ever guardsman of La Crête."

"That's why you don't make sense!" Olive exclaimed giddily.

"What're you talking about?" Eve asked, she didn't like her partner being insulted, even if she found him annoying sometimes.

"His lightning, silly~"

"How can you tell it's not his semblance?" Owen used his ability to skip ahead in her explanation.

"I don't know," She shrugged. "It just never seemed right."

"Mind backing it up for us non espers?" Celeste was getting irritated.

"It's the ability given to me by Dumas, the chief," D'art explained. "I'm D'artagnan Montaigne, Guardsman de la Foudre."

"Meaning?"

"When I became a guardsman Dumas awakened my aura and passed the final part of his semblance onto me. I… I don't actually know what my semblance is," He admitted. D'art proceeded to tell them the origin of the guardsman and how their powers were actually bestowed upon them by the chief's hereditary semblance.

* * *

The ship landed a while later in a crowded port filled with traders and merchants. The airship landed slowly, the wind blowing the grass around the landing pad like trees in a whirlwind. As the bay door opened, kids poured out to see the vast woods on all sides of the crowded port. A woman stood in front of the bay, wearing a red and brown coat made up of furs and leather. "Bonjour," the lady said, bowing to the group of children, "Bienvenue dans La Crête. If you will wait over by the entrance to the port I will lead you all to the hotel, then to the hunting grounds." Glynda nodded, leading the teams to the entrance through the buzzes and engines of the airships. D'art lead everyone off the ship, taking in the fresh air. Instead, however, D'art inhaled a breath full of exhaust, causing him to bend over coughing. "Hey!" The lady shouted, moving over to D'art and his friends "I don't need no strag-" She shouted, stopping in confusion. "D'artagnan?" She asked, moving closer.

D'art looked up to the lady, the sun illuminating the back of her hair. "Cerise?" He asked, standing back up. Cerise smiled, then grew angry.

Cerise took a knee to D'arts chest, causing him to kneel in pain. "Why haven't you sent me any letters? A picture? Anything!? I was worried sick, and you don't think I was worried? Didn't think your girlfriend would want to hear for you?" The group of friends all had an internal gasp, shocked at what was just said.

Owen connected to Eve over his semblance. He practically shouted, "D'art has a girlfriend!?" In his head for Eve to hear.

Eve replied, "Guess he's better at this whole guardsmen thing then I thought."

D'art coughed again, standing back up, slightly guarding his chest. Celeste interjected on her teammates behalf. "He's been really busy, he probably just-" Celeste tried to say.

Cerise immediately cut her off. "Ah….is this your nouveau leader? Elle pourrait être enroulée quelques crans."

Celeste huffed, then moved forward intimidatingly. "What did you say? I'll wipe that ursa hunting savage smile of your face!"

D'art stood between the two. "Cerise, come on. Play nice."

Cerise sighed, hugging D'art. "I'm sorry, it's just been so long. I missed you." D'art introduced everyone to cerise, exchanging names and backgrounds. "Well, no sense in staying here" Cerise said, motioning to the port's entrance, "Come visit the hotel with us." The group followed, leaving the hustle and bustle of the trade behind.

Within a few minutes the group had arrived at their destination. In front of them loomed the hotel they would be staying in. It looked quite elegant, combining both wood and marble to create a beautiful building. It's windows glowed with light. Glynda stopped in front of it's glass doors, turning around with a clipboard in hand, Cerise stood next to her, silent.

"When you hear your name, come up here and I'll give you your hotel key. Each team will be in one room with connecting doors to another. You are free to take your key and find your room but-" Glynda was cut off.

Students were scrambling past her, peering into the windows to get a glimpse of the inside of the hotel. Excited whispers blocked out her voice. One boy began to walk in before Glynda yanked on his collar and he fell backwards with a yelp.

"Listen up!" She yelled. The crowd fell silent. "Each team is to come up only when they are called, this will be a neat and orderly process. After you put your luggage in your room come back out here." She cleared her throat. "Team CODE."

Celeste grinned at being called first, strolling over to Glynda who gingerly gave her the hotel key. Owen, D'art, and Eve followed closely behind her.

"Your room will be on the top floor." Said Glynda.

"Come on!" Celeste called out, hurrying to the front doors. D'art cast one last glance at Cerise who smiled at him.

"Hurry up, this is going to be awesome." Owen grinned as he yanked D'art forward. The teenagers hurried through the glass doors before looking up, mouths slightly open.

The inside of the hotel spiraled upwards, with balconies on the inside which revealed the hallways of the upper floors. At the very top (which was hard to see) was the glimmer of a chandelier. In the middle of the hotel was a large glass statue of a figure, water spewed from its feet, glistening in the light. Crimson rose petals floated on it's surface. The floor consisted of marble tiles which shimmered, as clear as ice. Jazz played softly in the background, blending in with the low hush of voices.

"Damn." Owen whispered. Even Celeste had a look of awe on her face.

"I wasn't expecting it to be so," Eve paused. "Fancy." She finished lamely.

"It was dedicated to the chief." D'art explained, his face full of pride. "Lots of people who come to the Ridge for important stuff stay here."

"Important stuff?" Celeste questioned.

"You know, government stuff, business transactions and all that. The Ridge doesn't like trading with the rest of Vale, but they're still a part of it." D'art finished. He pulled his backpack over his shoulder and gestured towards the elevator in the back. "Let's go before the rest pour in the door.

The elevator had a glass portion in the bottom, allowing the group to see the floor slowly grow smaller below them. The top floor of the hotel was floor eleven, and by the time they got there, the statue at ground level was simply a small dot.

"I was never really afraid of heights but-" Owen's voice died off as he stared below them. Celeste yanked him out of the elevator and the group sprinted down the halls, searching for their room.

"Anyone see 1018?" D'art asked loudly.

"Why are we running?" Eve asked breathlessly.

"Cause this is Legen- Wait for it!-Dary!" D'art finished with a grin.

"I see it!" Celeste yelled. The group excitedly crowded around room 1018. D'art put the key in a small metal slot and turned the handle to open the door.

It was quaint but still large enough to fit four people. D'art flicked on the light switch and the room was illuminated. There were three beds sitting next to each other, with a couch on the end. A table and chair sat next to a desk which had a T.V on it. The bathroom (which was next to the entrance) was small with a sink and a bathtub. At the end of the room was a large window that led to the balcony.

"Awesome." D'art said with a grin. The others hurried in and D'art closed the door behind them. Owen groaned, throwing his luggage to the side and face planting on the closest bed.

"I call this one." He muttered.

"I call the bed on the end." Added Eve.

"I call-" D'art began.

"I call the middle one then." Celeste interrupted, throwing her suitcase to the side carelessly.

D'art sighed. "I'll share with Owen" He walked over to the balcony door and opened it, stepping outside.

The fresh aroma of pine could be smelled faintly in the soft breezes that languidly swept across the trees. The sky was a brilliant sky blue and not a single cloud could be seen. In the distance, birds could be heard chirping melodiously. D'art beamed at it all, his blue eyes glistening.

"I'm home." He said to himself softly.

Before anyone else could say anything, they heard the receding of footsteps outside their door. Celeste strolled over and opened it, peering out.

Team ROXA stood in front of room 1019, waiting for Olive who was jumping with excitement.

"Olive stop jumping and open the door already." Amelia lectured. D'art came up besides Celeste and blinked.

"Olive?" He asked, surprised. Olive stared at him and then grinned.

"Hey!"

"You're our neighbors?"

"You know it!"

"Guys! Team ROXA is our neighbor!" D'art called out enthusiastically into the room. The only two left were Owen (who was slumped onto the bed) and Eve who was currently on the balcony, not bothering to reply. D'art stared at them and back at Olive.

"They're ecstatic." He said finally.

"This means we have connecting doors right?" Celeste asked, staring at Riliane with a light blush on her face.

"Yeah." D'art replied. Celeste looked down, smiling slightly.

"I see."

A few minutes later, the group got ready to leave. Before they could do so however, D'art stopped them.

"You know what this means, right?" He asked. Eve, Celeste and Owen stared at him blankly. D'art gestured to the room next door. "Team ROXA is our neighbor!" He hissed.

"So?" Eve asked.

"So there's going to be bloodshed tonight." D'art threw his arms around his friends, pulling them in close.

"You don't mean-" Celeste began.

"I do." D'art finished with a devilish grin.

"Pillowfight."Said Owen, his face was pale.

"I can trust we're all going to participate?" D'art asked.

"Not me." Eve said quickly. She remembered the last pillow fight she saw, and she wanted no part of it. Slowly, her teammates turned to look at her. Eve was silent before she cleared her throat and held out her palm.

"Merde." D'art snapped. He shoved his hand in his pocket and gave Eve twenty-five Lien. She considered it thoughtfully.

"I was holding it out for a handshake." Eve said softly. She put the money in her pocket anyhow.

"It's a deal then." D'art said.

Celeste nodded. "12:00 tonight. We'll begin the invasion."

"Their death will be swift." Owen said.

"Hands in." Celeste demanded. The group put their hands in the center.

"For the death of our enemies." D'art began.

"For our pride," Owen added.

"And for our glory." Eve said.

"The greater sacrifice the greater the reward. It is on!" D'art yelled. They threw their hands up.

Little did they know the room next door was planning something similar. Olive sat on the bed, her legs crisscrossed.

"Everyone in!" She hissed. The girls (and Xanthic) crowded around her. "You know what this means right?" She asked. They were silent. Olive let out a noise of annoyment. "Riliane you're facing the wrong side, this way." Riliane obliged with an uneasy laugh.

"Sorry."

"No one knows what this means?" Olive asked, she crossed her arms. Xanthic sighed.

"Pillow fight." He said.

"Exactly!" Olive replied eagerly. Amelia stared at them, bored.

"Not again."

"How can you say that with such a face?!" Olive asked dramatically with a gasp, feigning hurt.

"The last time we did that Glynda nearly blew up."

"Glynda isn't here."

"Glynda is one floor below us!" Amelia said quickly.

"Glynda. Isn't. Here." Olive said slowly. Amelia rolled her eyes.

"So are we defending or attacking?" Riliane asked excitedly.

Olive grinned. "That's the spirit. And as for your question young soldier, we will have to wait."

"What if I want to sleep tonight?" Xanthic asked nervously.

"You're surrendering?!" Olive asked. Before Xanthic could respond, his eyes turned green and he leaned back with a grin.

"Hell no. Let's beat them down so hard they won't be able to get back up."

"What's that thing?" Amelia asked.

"What thing." Xanthic snapped.

"That thing where you suddenly become really aggressive. It's not hard to miss." Amelia eyed him suspiciously. Xanthic was silent before responding.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said innocently.

"So it's final then." Olive interrupted. "We're going to engage war."

"Let's do it!" Riliane smiled.

"It is on." Xanthic leaned in.

"I don't like this." Amelia began quietly. "But what the hell, everyone needs to beat each other up with pillows once in awhile."

"Quote of the day, right there."

"Oh be quiet."

"Hehe."

A half an hour later, the groups gathered downstairs and met up with Glynda. And from there the rest of the activities began.

* * *

The teams and groups met in a fortress outside of town, opening out to the vast wilderness. The teams organized military style shoulder to shoulder. Whispers cut through the sounds of birds chirping. Suddenly, the soldiers from the ridge snapped to attention, as 4 figures entered from the right. It was a tall black haired man, a short portly man with mutton chops, a man with partial grey hair, and Cerise. The 4 looked across the line of children, still scattered and chatting with friends. "Let me do it this time." Called out the black haired one. He stepped facing the students. He tried to cough to get their attention, but to no avail. Finally, he tried the more direct route. "Attention!" He screamed, silencing the birds and children all at once. His breath had a coldness about it, freezing whatever water was left in the air. The kids all snapped in line. "Now, I'd like to be the second to welcome you to the Ridge. My name is Athos, my smaller associate over there is Porthos, and the tall man with greyish hair is Aramais. No it's not from age, but he is still old as dirt." Some of the kids laughed, settling down quickly in fear they might be shouted at again. "We are the Guardsmen of the Ridge, protectors of the land and it's people. We are here to teach you today about hunting. Real hunting." As he talked he scanned the crowd until his eyes stopped on team CODE, "D'art!?" The brown man said, screeching to a halt. All eyes went to D'art, each one piercing his brain. Standing in dumbfoundment, the 3 guardsmen ran over to D'art, knocking over Cerise in the process. The group hugged and shared compliments. It all stopped when Cerise coughed, bringing the group back to attention. "Ahem." Athos said, dusting off his coat. "As you can tell, our work relies on knowing our surroundings and environment. To best do that, before we even come face to face with Grimm, we hunt animals. Normal stuff, bears, foxes, hares and rabbits. Now, we have traps hidden all around the wooded area, mostly for animals and Grimm. We want you to bring whatever you can find back. Use whatever methods you can to bring it here just bring it back. Extra points if you can nab an Ursa pelt for us." Athos said, joking. The teams and their captains broke off into the forest, walking further and further away until the fortress was just a rectangle in a sea of green and brown. "Alright." Aramais said, stopping team ROXA and CODE in their tracks "Cerise and I will go with your team, D'art. Athos and Porthos will go with your friends. Ca va? Good. Let's go." Aramais walked off with CODE, rushing them into the Forest.

The large trees blocked out most of the sun, creating patches of light barely making the ground floor. Deer flocked across a clearing, trudging through a river. Beavers were hard at work to finish a dam, the current of the river dousing their work. Aramais and D'art lead the group, leaving Cerise to chat with D'arts new team. "...and then, without even thinking, he takes the hornets nest, and kicks it into the river!" The group of four burst out into laughter, echoing off each tree trunk. D'art rolled his eyes, walking backwards.

"I didn't know it was a hornet's nest! I thought it was a rock!" Cerise giggled, shaking her head. "Whatever" D'art said, shrugging. "At least I didn't try and impress a guy at school with my "knitting" skills." Cerise blushed a little, slugging D'art in the arm.

Aramais turned to the group of kids, frowning. "Now, if everyone is quite finished. It's time you learned about the traps we use." Aramais moved his foot over a patch of ground, dusting off the leaves and branches. "Now, for normal prey we use snares. But a snare won't hold an Ursa or a Beowulf. So, we improvise." He motioned for the kids to take a step back, all of them leaping backwards. Aramais followed suit, hitting his sword on a panel in the ground. A large portion sank, then another large portion, leading to a pit. The pit went on for what seemed miles. "This, is to hold them until we can come dispose of the threat. It's also how we store all of the corpses of dead kids lying around." Aramais winked, laughing. Cerise and D'art followed suit, but an eerie silence befell everyone else. "Oh, sorry" Aramais said, bowing, "Bad joke. Anyway, we scatter these traps and others along routes to our major cities, so the militiary can follow the trail and take out any Grimm they find on their way."

Celeste held up a hand, wanting to ask a question. Aramais nodded, pointing to her. "Yeah, uh, what exactly are you going to kill them with, that stick you call a gun?" Celeste asked, motioning to the musket on his back.

Aramais chuckled a little, before quickly drawing out the rifle and aiming it at a tree. He fired, a musket ball leaving a basketball sized hole in the tree. Aramais turned to it, swinging his rifle like an ax, and knocking the tree down. "Yes. I plan on killing Grimm and anything else that threatens my people with this stick." Aramais said, returning to his lesson on trapping.

* * *

The group walked back to the fort, a long day behind them. The two teams eventually merged up, with ROXA waiting back at the fort for them. "How long have you guys been here?" Eve asked, curious.

Riliane was the first to perk up. "Well, first I almost fell into one of the pits...then someone ate all of our snacks and drank our water for the day so we just relaxed here." Porthos nodded, making nervous looks around everyone.

Athos sighed, hand on his face. "All the same, we taught them about the traps." Athos was interrupted by a bell echoing through the soldiers scattered, lining against railings and cover overlooking the trees.

"What's going on?" Riliane said, shocked by the sirens.

Athos stepped toward the forest, then turning back to the soldiers, "La Grande Ourse! Reste attentif!" He shouted out.

D'art casually turned back to his friends, offering to translate. "Ursa Major. They try to storm the city and countryside, so we have bells set up to warn us." Aramais put a hand on D'art, moving him into the forest to deal with the monster. Glynda rushed everyone inside, including Cerise. Only the guardsmen remained with their men, watching out over the horizon. A black mass moved from tree to tree. "Hold fire!" D'art said confidently, readying his tomahawks. The other guardsmen drew their swords, except Porthos, who made his large axe out of the rocks in the earth. A low growling grew across the silence, sending birds and other animals scurrying away. "Hold!" D'art shouted, trying to unnerve. D'art moved back to the mouth of the forest. "Fire at my will!" He said, moving closer and closer. He walked briskly, then started running. At first he didn't see anything, then a darkness highlands with white and red grew larger and larger. He jumped with his tomahawks. "Fire!" He shouted, landing in the creature's skull, axes first. Aramais, Porthos, and Athos joined the soldiers in firing a barrage, knocking over several trees. Smoke from the muskets and rifles created a cloud, encompassing the glass viewing area of the students.

D'arts teammates leaned forward trying to see through the smoke. "I can't find him." Owen said, trying all of his settings on his eye.

Cerise got more and more worried. "C'mon…" she mumbled. The smoke settled, the forest returning to its natural peace, aside from some fallen trees.

D'art returned from a collection of trees. "La bête est morte!" He said, dragging a thumb across his throat. The soldiers hooted and hollered, the guardsmen crowding and congratulating him. The students all cheered, even Amelia, who was silent for most of the afternoon. D'art found Cerise in the crowd, smiling right at her. She blushed, hiding some of her face. D'art went inside to meet the rest of his teammates.

* * *

Afterwards, the students went back to the hotel to eat and prepare to rest for the day. However, the day was not done for two groups in particular. Voices grew silent as the clock struck midnight. D'art, Eve, Owen and Celeste slowly stood up from their bed, grabbing their pillows and tiptoeing towards the connecting door.

"Did anyone think about how we were gonna sneak in if their door is locked?" Owen hissed.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." D'art replied, he leaned against the wall next to the door. "One of us will knock on their door. They'll open it, and as soon as they do," He buried his fist in his pillow. "We attack."

"And then we take out each individual member." Celeste finished, her eyes locked on the door. D'art nodded.

"Remember what's at stake here." Everyone nodded, determined. Celeste came up to the wall and took a deep breath, placing her ear against it.

"It's too quiet." She whispered.

"They might be sleeping."

"No." Eve shook her head. "I don't think so."

"I suppose it doesn't matter. Now then. Owen, knock on the door." Celeste ordered.

Owen frowned. "Why me?"

"Because I said so." Owen sighed, moving past the others and unlocking the door on their side. Another door stood before them, leading into the other room. Taking a deep breath, Owen shakily held his hand up and knocked on the door.

The door didn't move. There was silence. Owen moved to knock again before it swung open and a yelling Olive pounced on him.

"Damnit! They were expecting-" D'art was cut off as he dodged a pillow swipe and stumbled into the room of his enemies.

"G-Get her off!" Owen shouted, struggling under Olive who was smacking him with her pillow.

"Owen has been compromised! But we must continue!" Celeste yelled, barely dodging a swipe.

"I'm still alive-" Owen was cut off as Olive buried his face in her pillow. D'art flipped backwards onto the bed, grabbing two sausage shaped pillows and hitting them against Amelia's larger one. As swift as lightning, Amelia dodged another one of his strikes, grabbing his pillow and yanking it towards her. D'art stumbled in her direction and Amelia rammed him into the wall, slamming her pillow into his face.

"I've got you!" Celeste called out, punching Amelia from behind with her pillow-like gauntlets. Amelia cried out, allowing D'art to tackle her to the ground. On the other side of the room, Eve made an attempt to jump over Olive, who still had Owen in her clutches. With a battle cry Olive yanked her foot, pulling her to the ground.

"Save m-" Owen was once again cut off as Olive forcefully put her foot on his head, driving his face into the carpet.

Owen yelled into the carpet. "I'll -ucking murde-" The rest was muffled. Rather amused, Olive grabbed a long pillow shaped like a cylinder, flinging it at Eve who caught it with one hand. Determined, Eve rolled past another pillow swipe, swinging her pillow against her opponent's face so hard that Olive was knocked back from the recoil. Revived, Owen jumped up, kicking her backwards into the wall. Olive clutched her cheek with a grin, her eyelashes fluttering as she slumped onto the ground.

D'art struggled, his pillows locked in a stalemate against Amelia's. Behind them, Celeste barely rolled away from a swipe, spinning around to come face to face with Xanthic.

"Boo." He grinned, kicking her legs so Celeste fell onto the ground. He grabbed another pillow off the floor, about to swing before Celeste kicked him away. She dodged another strike, quickly grabbing the sheets off of the adjacent bed and throwing them over Xanthic.

Amelia grunted, her eyes flashing with fury as she threw D'art to the side. Using this brief moment of opportunity, she bombarded him with a series of pillow strikes. Before anyone else could continue, there was a knock on the door. The fight stopped and heads turned.

"I call not opening it." Celeste said abruptly. Amelia sighed and brushed past her, opening the door wearily. Cerise stood outside, hands in her pockets.

"Hello? I came to ask if I could speak with D'art."

"This isn't his room, it's the next one." Amelia said slowly.

"Oh."

"But he's here anyways. So I guess it doesn't matter." Amelia wearily stepped inside, opening the door so Cerise could take a peek. The room was in tatters. Pillows were strewn across the room, feathers were littered on the ground and sheets were thrown onto the lamps and tables. Cerise stared at it, bemused.

"What were you-"

"Cerise?" D'art stumbled over to her, still recovering from the fight. His brown hair was tousled and his cheeks were flushed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you." Cerise replied, regaining her confidence.

"Oh." D'art said lamely. He looked towards his teammates helplessly.

"Go man." Owen said with a grin. "We got this." Celeste gave him the thumbs up. D'art looked back at Cerise who had her arms crossed.

"Lead the way." D'art said with a grin. He cast one last look at his teammates before closing the door behind him.

There was silence. Everyone was still as the footsteps retreated. Then Xanthic (who was still covered in blankets) threw them off, tackling Celeste who grunted. Owen and Eve fell upon Amelia who was bombarded with a series of synchronized hits. She held her pillow up as one last act of defense before she lost her balance, falling onto the ground and groaning. She held up her hands weakly.

"I'm done." She said tiredly. Turning around, the two focused their sights on the remaining member. Slowly, Owen and Eve walked towards Xanthic.

"Three versus one." Owen said with a grin, he raked his hand through his black hair. "What do you say Xanthic?" Xanthic grinned, his green eyes glinting with mischief.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" He asked. Simultaneously, Owen, Eve, and Celeste spun around, but it was too late. Looming above them was a cushioned bed. It slowly fell towards them. At the last second, Celeste pushed Eve out of the way. It was the last thing she could do before it fell onto them, and they were trapped. Eve stared at it, shocked.

"Don't worry." Riliane came out besides it. "I made sure it fell so it wouldn't seriously hurt them. They just won't be able to get out before we're done."

"You set up defenses." Eve took a step back, gripping her pillow tightly. "How'd you do it so quickly?"

"We propped it up so Riliane could lift it up quickly. Then I would give her the audio cue when she was supposed to throw it. This way she could be our trump card and still participate in the fight without putting herself in danger." Xanthic replied cooly.

"I didn't think she was strong enough to do it by herself." Eve said as she looked between Xanthic and Riliane, her was pulse racing. How could she win against them both?

"She didn't do it by herself." Amelia huffed as she staggered around the bed, barely able to stand from exhaustion.

"I made sure I saved an ounce of my strength to help her." Amelia said before she leaned against the wall and slid to the ground. Eve looked back towards the two, her eye narrowing.

"Two versus one." Xanthic put his hands behind his head and grinned at her mischievously. "What do you say Eve?" Eve met his gaze without flinching.

"I've been through worse." She said simply. A flicker of anger came into his eyes but it quickly disappeared as he grabbed a pillow.

"Let's see how long you last." He dashed towards her, but Eve ignored him, climbing on the overturned bed and grabbing Riliane who cried out.

"She may be your trump card, but in an actual pillow fight she's hardly competent." Eve snarled before she pushed Riliane back into the other room and shut the door between them, locking it.

"You can't win like that." Xanthic said quickly.

"Really? She's unable to fight, it counts." Eve pushed up her sleeves. "Seems familiar to your method, does it not?"

Xanthic was silent before he grinned. "It doesn't matter, I'll beat you."

"We'll see about that. It seems to me like you're all talk." Eve said cooly. Xanthic raised an eyebrow.

"I'll make you take that back." He smirked before throwing a pillow at his opponent. Eve casually hit it aside, her eye widening briefly as Xanthic tackled her. She was slammed into the wall, her head buzzing as she dodged a punch (Xanthic was also using pillow gauntlets). Eve grabbed his arms twisting them behind him. Xanthic grunted in pain before she threw him across the room.

He recovered quickly, landing on his feet like a cat. Without hesitation, he jumped over the toppled bed, running across the dresser and grabbing a pillow. Eve grabbed one as well and their hits clashed, the sound of pillows slamming against each other filled the room. Xanthic hit her once on the head, and then her right arm. Eve hit his waist and then his cheek. Feathers flew from their hits like snow. With a grunt, Eve backhanded him with her pillow which forced him to stumble backwards from the recoil. He grinned and grabbed her leg, throwing her onto the bed where she stood up shakily.

"Better than I thought." Eve said under her breath. She jumped on the bed and hit him as she came down, the momentum making her hit two times as strong. Xanthic grunted, staggering slightly before also jumping on the bed and kicking her in the stomach. His opponent stumbled backwards and Xanthic put his arm over her throat, cornering her against the wall. They glared at each other, breathless.

"What was that about 'all talk'?" He asked with a grin. He'd won! Xanthic fought back another sarcastic retort as Eve's eye narrowed. His grin slowly faded as he stared at her. Where D'art's eyes were like the sky, her eye was like the ocean. It was deep and dark, as if she stored all her emotions there. And there they would stay, swarming in the depths of the ocean, far from the eyes of others. It was beautiful and sad simultaneously.

Before he could finish his thoughts Eve smacked him with a pillow so hard he fell backwards off the bed, landing on the floor with a thud.

"What was that?" She asked, her face was emotionless. Xanthic stared at her, stunned. He tried to move but winced.

"I think I sprained something." He muttered, rubbing his shoulder. Eve stared at him coldly before she blinked and the look disappeared. She jumped off of the bed and walked up to him.

"Sorry, I might have hit you too hard. I'm surprised your aura ran out."

"My fault for spacing out." Xanthic stood up shakily, ignoring her outstretched hand. "Without that I would have won." He looked away. Eve raised an eyebrow.

"It's my win then?" She asked.

"No point anymore."

"Let me see." Eve took his arm, pulling up the sleeve and observing it. Xanthic tried to yank his arm away but she refused to let him move. "You'll be fine." She said finally. "It's not sprained, just a bad bruise. It should go away in a few days." Xanthic pulled away quickly, his bangs fell into his eyes as he slid his sleeve down.

"Good match." Eve said before she walked over to the upturned bed. "Celeste, Owen, you guys okay?" She asked. There were groans in response. "I'll get you two in a second, just hang tight." She unlocked the door to the other room revealing a sleeping Riliane.

"Riliane you okay?" The blonde girl stirred slightly before she rubbed her eyes and then beamed.

"Eve? That you?"

"Yeah, sorry I threw you in."

"It's okay, it was probably for the best anyways. I would have just slowed Xanthic down."

"Nonsense, you're the reason Owen and Celeste were trapped. You did great." Eve said quickly. She blinked, surprised that she was comforting her.

"Thanks." Riliane said with a smile.

"Is Olive okay? Owen got her pretty good." Eve asked.

"Oh Olive is fine. She went downstairs to eat something." Eve raised an eyebrow. She wasn't surprised.

"What about Amelia?" Riliane asked. Eve turned back to see the silver haired girl napping quietly.

"She's just tired. Mind helping me with the bed?" Eve asked finally.

"Sure!"

They moved into the other room, about to lift the bed before they heard the sound of a door opening. D'art stumbled in, his cheeks pink.

"Lover boy is back." Xanthic said with a smirk. He was on the bed, his hands behind his head.

"Shut up!" D'art said quickly. He peered at the room, shocked.

"What monstrosity happened here?"

"Long story." Riliane giggled.

"But we won." Eve nodded.

"Awesome sause!"

"Seriously. Who says that?"

"Wha-I do!"

After an hour or so of cleaning up and attempting to put the pillows back together, everyone got in their own rooms and lights were turned off. Despite their exhaustion, for the first time that night they felt closer to each other than they ever had before.


	10. Chapter 9

Team CODE collectively dragged themselves out of bed, exhausted from last night's war with ROXA. D'art ran down stairs, his sore legs still eager to be home. A large communal table was set up overnight for the students to eat breakfast. D'art ran like a bolt of lightning, charging right for the local cuisine. He filled on hash and Poulet et gaufres till his stomach burst. Owen, Eve, and Celeste tried to follow, fumbling down to the elevator and out to the main lobby with the food. The smell of fresh coffee and breakfast woke the 3 up, driving them closer and closer to the line.

Later, ROXA came down and started eating with the rest of CODE "Where's Amelia?" D'art asked through a mouth of eggs.

Olive pointed up to the hotel room. "She said she had something to do. First words she said all week."

Just then, Amelia rode the elevator down, excitedly walking to her friends' table. She threw a travel guide on the table along with a schedule. "We've got a busy day ahead, guys! We're going to go to the local museum, to the shopping district, to lunch, and then to the festival!" Amelia's excitement shocked everyone into silence. Few has heard her speak, and none this much. Amelia was flushed, moving back to her quiet demeanor. "If that's alright with everyone else that is…" Everyone nodded in agreement, looking through the travel guide.

"Oh!" D'art shouted, gesturing with his fork. "I need to take you guys to see my house!" Everyone nodded again, the plan sounding good. As D'art went back to eating his heart out, Amelia briefed the others on the ridge.

"We need to be grateful. D'art's standing as a Guardsmen will only take us so far. So no fighting." She said, looking everyone directly in the eyes. Everyone except Celeste gave a shrug, with Celeste just folding her arms in defiance. "Ok." Amelia said, her soft spoken voice barely hiding her excitement. "Let's get going, as soon everyone is done."

* * *

First up was the local museum. It was a large wooden structure. The architect had made it open air to express The Ridge's connection with nature. Statues and weapons filled the building some behind glass cases and some out in the open watched by guards. D'art appointed himself tour guide, much to Amelia's protest. "So. It all began in the early years. When man and Faunus alike walked outside of caves for the first time. The Ridge area was known for its bad storms, for its awful weather. No one could live in the valley, and those who tried died. One day, a man, Champlain, stood up among the men and women and moved towards a large stone. The rain grew larger and larger, almost as if bullets fell from the sky. He took his leg, raised his foot to the sky, and stomped on the rock. The rock separated, creating a ridge between the 2 pieces. And as he raised his hand the storms stopped, the skies parted, and the people rose from their fear. And we started."

Celeste, skeptical, scoffed out loud. "So what, this guy just raised his hands up and stomped around, like a baby, and the storms stopped? Seems crazy to me."

D'art tilted his head. "And? I can channel electricity. You can suck the life force from people. Owen can _actually_ read minds. And that's what's crazy to you?" Celeste turned away, embarrassed. D'art sighed, continuing with his tour. "Hundreds of years passed. The Ridge saw steady growth." D'art rested his hand on an early battle axe held by a mannequin. "Then. The dark times. A new chieftain came to power. His name was Cabot. Cabot was ruthless. He saw The Ridge as the ultimate power. He moved his soldiers to the mountains to destroy any other clans or tribes. They say he killed 500,000 people in his lifetime as chief. We look back on him in fear and amazement. How we could follow him is crazy…" D'art trailed off for a second, then turned back to his friends. "He is noted for appointing the first female Guardsmen, as well as making colleges a state sponsored Part of the government and free to any citizen of the Ridge. He fought a losing war against the kingdom of Vale, practically throwing his troops at the much more sophisticated guns of the Vale Soldiers. Realizing he was loosing, at the age of 79, Cabot sailed away from The Ridge to seek asylum. He died during a military raid at age 85. After that, with no leader, the ridge fell to Vale. Then we kept working for them until the Great War. Then, we fought for them. After the war was over, we grew resentful of Vale. So we banned hybrid weapons and developed our own black powder style rifles. Mixes Dust with gun powder. Now we're here, about to be free again. To make a future for ourselves." D'art finished, gesturing to the traps, weapons, and uniforms strewn across the museum. The group dispersed, looking over the museum's content. Riliane ran her hand over a wood carving telling of the ridge's history. It was a carving of stones, of war, and of animals and nature. "Wow…" Riliane gasped slightly. Suddenly though, the group was rushed out of the museum by Amelia, eager to show them the shopping district. She even pulled Olive out of the gift shop to her displeasure. She practically dragged the two teams through trails and sidewalks to the shopping district.

The group of friends were lead through the hot weather as they wove their way through the main square. Above them, rose the shopping district, a collection of buildings tucked together with winding pathways and cutely sized rose gardens in between. The buildings were made from wood, with large glass panels that reflected the sun. Tendrils of ivy twisted and turned on their walls. Amelia turned around, her grey hair swaying as she beamed.

"Where to first?" She asked.

Celeste was rather beamused. "I didn't know you liked stuff like this."

"Organizing these things is just so exciting."Amelia replied, her voice dropping considerably to return to her usual calm demeanor. D'art scratched his head.

"I don't know. I've never been a big fan of shopping. I'll go wherever you guys want to."

"Let's eat." Owen grinned around the chocolate bar he was currently munching on.

"We had breakfast not that long ago." Celeste sighed. "Eating machine."

"Books." Eve said simply.

"Jeans." Celeste added as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"B-Books." Xanthic offered shyly.

"I'm fine with books." Amelia said. "Now where's the map for this place? I don't see a bookstore."

"This is stupid. None of these buildings have labels on them." Owen snapped.

"That's because you're looking at the back of them, idiot." Celeste hissed.

"Well personally I think they should have labels on the front and back of them."

"I didn't ask for your personal opinion."

"Shut up."

* * *

In the end, the group split up. Eve, Xanthic and Amelia went off in search of more bookstores and Owen and D'art stayed behind, at a loss of what to do and where to shop. Finally, Olive and Celeste went shopping for clothes dragging Riliane with them.

"Gross." Celeste crinkled her nose at the fabric, holding it by her pointer finger and thumb.

"Don't treat it like it's garbage." Olive lectured. Celeste rolled her eyes and put the pair of jeans back in the rack, her fingers skimming for more.

"What about this?" Olive asked, her hands on her hips. Celeste turned around, her eyes sliding down to Olive's boots which went to the middle of her calfs. They were a chocolate brown with a green feather on each pair. Celeste regarded it thoughtfully. Olive usually wore a red vest over a green shirt and puffy brown pants. With that she typically wore knee high boots. The ones she were wearing now just didn't do the trick.

"The color matches with your outfit but it just doesn't seem right." Celeste replied. Olive sighed.

"I thought as much. The length is off." Celeste nodded, pulling out another pair and then putting it back. She stared at herself, wondering what would fit her current outfit. She typically wore a light blue hoodie that matched her hair with a white band wrapping across her chest. Her pants were normal blue jeans. Celeste checked out another pair, putting it to her hips and then returning it. Her eyes couldn't help but linger to Riliane who was currently sitting on a bench besides them, her legs swinging back and forth.

"Celeste?" Olive asked abruptly.

Celeste jumped. "What?"

"Check this out." Celeste turned to find the most adorable dress she had ever laid her eyes on. It was a cream colored halter dress, with ruffles and a yellow bow that trailed past the hem fading into a pearl white.

"It's...cute." Celeste finished, surprised.

"Right?" Olive grinned, putting the dress over herself and frowning. "Doesn't fit me at all." Celeste smirked in response

"I know who it would fit though." Olive said mischievously, she glanced at Riliane who was humming innocently. Celeste caught the gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey Riliane." Olive sang, skipping over to her. "Wouldja mind trying this on?" Riliane looked up, surprised.

"What is it?"

"It's a dress."

"Oh...I-I don't know." Riliane stuttered, looking away.

"Pretty please?" Olive pleaded. "It's super, uber, duper cute."

"Just this once." Celeste promised. Riliane sighed.

"Why can't you guys put it on?"

"It wouldn't look right on us!" Olive replied quickly. Rilane considered this.

"Well alright." She said finally. Olive grabbed her hand and tugged her to the dressing

room with Celeste trailing behind. After disappearing behind the curtain, the two girls waited in anticipation. Nearly five minutes passed before Olive began to grow impatient.

"Almost done?" Olive asked loudly.

"I'm trying to get my shirt off, the button's stuck."

"You're still on the shirt?" Olive asked incredulously. "Celeste go help." Olive ordered with a sly grin. Celeste blinked.

"Alright." She said slowly, passing Olive as she stopped in front of the curtain. Celeste hesitated before pulling it open and moving inside.

Riliane was inside, fiddling with her top with an annoyed expression. "Celeste that's you right?"

"Yes." Celeste said quickly. "If you need help you can just ask, you know."

"I know, I thought I had it." Riliane replied. Celeste walked over and gently pried her hands away from the button. It was tangled with another string, making it difficult to move, After a few seconds however, it was an easy fix. Celeste quickly unbuttoned the rest.

"Thanks." Riliane beamed and slid the shirt off. It fell to the floor and the blonde searched the wall for the dress, still wearing her leggings and a white tank top. Celeste's gaze lingered on her bare shoulders before grabbing the dress off of a hook and handing it to her. Riliane took it gratefully.

"You know, my parents always wanted me to wear girly stuff like this." Riliane said as she fingered the fabric. "They said it always made me look beautiful. But I've always prefered comfortable clothes more, or ones that serve a better purpose."

"Like armor." Celeste replied, her voice cracked and she blushed slightly.

"Like armor." Riliane confirmed, not appearing to notice. "So whenever I wear something like this it reminds me of home." Riliane laughed a little. "They would always have someone help me put dresses on, and I would insist that I could do it by myself but I would end up tearing the fabric from falling." Riliane finished, her eyes softened.

"Do you miss them?" Celeste asked softly. She knew that she could leave but her legs wouldn't move.

Riliane was silent before replying. "Yes and no. I love having my independence now, but at the same time their overprotectiveness is one of the reasons I love them." Riliane fiddled with the dress before Celeste grabbed it.

"I'll help you." She said quickly. Riliane nodded and let Celeste slide the dress over her. It fell perfectly over her legs. Celeste pulled at the straps, her fingers brushing Riliane's skin as she finished the knot behind her neck. Every time they touched there was warmth and a shock, almost like electricity. Heat bloomed across Celeste's cheeks as her fingers gently trailed across the blonde's back. Riliane's face tilted slightly in the Celeste's direction.

"Celeste?" She asked. Celeste blinked as she broke out of her trance and retracted her hand quickly.

"There was something on your back" Celeste added as she cleared her throat.

"Oh okay, thanks." Riliane said, she turned around and then spun. The white fabric flew out from her, rippling. "Well? How do I look?" Riliane asked with a laugh.

Celeste could only stare, her lips parted. It was as if the dress was made for Riliane. The creamy white of the fabric complimented her pale skin and her long blonde hair matched the shade of the yellow bow. The hem of the dress ended just before her knees and swayed as she moved, a river of rich cream and luscious gold.

"Celeste?" Riliane asked. "D-Does it look bad?

"What? NO!" Celeste said loudly before lowering her voice. "You look beautiful." Riliane beamed and hurried out of the changing room.

"Olive how do I look?" Riliane asked. Celeste looked over her shoulder, she could see the silhouette of Riliane beyond the curtain as she spun. Olive simply squealed in response.

"You look ADORABLE! You are wearing that for the rest of the day! I'll pay!"

"Oh but-"

"No arguments!" Olive chirped. Celeste smiled tiredly and walked out of the changing room.

* * *

On the other side of the mall, D'art and Owen sat on a bench, surrounded by gossiping women.

"I'm bored." Owen yawned. "It's nearly been an hour. How long can someone shop?"

"You'd be surprised." D'art said as he ran a hand through his brown hair and sighed.

"Looks like you've had fun shopping times with Cerise." Owen teased. D'art smacked him on the arm.

"Dude don't look into my head like that."

"You know I can't help it sometimes." Owen grinned and put his arms behind his head.

"But yes. I've had _fun_ shopping times with Cerise." D'art replied. There was silence between the two of them before Owen spoke.

"It was awful wasn't it."

"God so it was awful." D'art quickly replied with a groan. "She would shop for hours on end and demand that I be there. And then we'd go out to eat, and then she would shop even more." Owen chuckled.

"At least it's kind of sweet that she wants you to be there."

"But I don't want to be there! Sometimes she just follows her urges and I don't have the strength to say no." Owen blinked before he snickered. D'art raised an eyebrow before flushing.

"Wait no, NO I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!" He yelled. Owen stifled another laugh. D'art sighed and scratched his head. "But I enjoy being with her so I guess it doesn't matter."

"How cute." Owen cooed. "It's strange though. You never mentioned her back home, so

never knew you had a girlfriend. You were never thinking of her when I peered into your brain either." Owen finished. D'art was silent for a little.

"I instinctively relate Cerise to my home. She's essentially the embodiment of the Ridge to me." D'art said slowly. "After transferring to Beacon I can't help but push the Ridge out of my mind sometimes, I get homesick and I think of everyone. And all my memories with Cerise-" He cut off, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. "I can't help but want to be with her."

"So you don't write to her." Owen finished.

"Cerise didn't want me to leave the Ridge." D'art said reluctantly. "She was furious at me for a while and I didn't know how to fix that other than coming home. Being perfectly honest I was afraid to talk to her, even through writing. I knew that if I spoke with her too much I would want to go back. So I tried not to."

"And here I thought you were just being an asshole." Owen grinned.

D'art laughed. "I think it was a bit of that too."

"Yeah. But damn. I never thought you'd land a girl." Owen admitted.

"Shut up." D'art snapped.

"She's hot too." Owen added thoughtfully. D'art tried to refrain from smiling, but in the end he couldn't help it.

"Yeah." Then D'art glanced at his friend. "What about you dude? Any love interests?" Owen's eyes darkened.

"No."

"None at all?"

"None. I mean I've had some in the past but," He sighed. "It's hard for me to fall in love." D'art raised an eyebrow. Owen glanced at him.

"It's just, every time I find someone I'm interested in I can't stop myself from reading them. And then everything just falls apart. I find what they're going to say next, how they feel, what they think. And I can't love them anymore." He looked away miserably. "If it was ever love at all."

"Wouldn't being able to read them help? You can anticipate what's coming and you can know their interests."

"Maybe. But not knowing is part of the fun of loving someone." Owen admitted. "And I can't experience that. It's like I always skip to the end of the book without reading the middle. It spoils it."

"That's deep." D'art said finally.

"Just kidding." Owen said as he grinned.

"What?"

"Just kidding! You should have seen your face."

"Wait, so that was all a joke?" D'art asked incredulously. Owen laughed.

"You're pretty easy to fool."

"Oh shut up." D'art snapped. Then he blinked "Wait, so then who _do_ you have a crush on?"

"Not tellin."

"Whaaaat?"

"Anyways I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me up when they come back will ya?" Owen turned away from his friend, staring at the wall.

"Will do."

Owen sighed. Despite the joke his eyes didn't glimmer from mischief at all. Instead they were somewhat sad. His hand curled into a fist and his eyelashes flickered shut, doing his best to sleep amongst the chatter around him.

* * *

Close to Owen and D'art, was a bookstore that Eve, Xanthic, and Amelia were currently occupying. The three had sat down next to each other, reading their own books. No words had been spoken for the last several minutes.

"What time is it?" Eve asked finally, breaking the silence. Amelia checked her scroll.

"11:55." She replied. Eve nodded and returned to her book. The silence returned, except for the flipping of a page. Xanthic looked up from his book, uneasily shifting his gaze to Eve and then to Amelia.

"Not right now." He muttered so softly that no one else could hear him. "Later. No, I'm not putting it off. I just want to read, leave me alone."

Xanthic hit himself angrily, receiving the surprised glances from Eve and Amelia. Xanthic laughed uneasily.

"Sorry…" He mumbled. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them they were a lime green. Then he leaned towards Eve and grinned.

"What're you reading?" He asked. Eve stared at him, perplexed.

"Um, The Five Best Ways To Behead Someone." Eve replied. Xanthic stared at her, and then burst out laughing. Amelia cast an irritated glance towards him.

"What?" Eve asked.

"It's just out of all the things you could be reading that's the one you chose."

"I think it's rather interesting." Eve said slowly, she turned the book over and stared at the cover. "But I have several other books to read." She gestured to the pile beside her and then turned the book back over, flipping a page.

Xanthic raised an eyebrow. "You're buying all that?" He leaned back in his chair, the book he was reading lay face down on the table.

"Depends." Eve replied calmly. Without her permission, Xanthic rifled through the pile. Eve glanced at him but said nothing.

"The Sorrow of a Spring Day. I've read this." Xanthic said.

"I see."

"Have you?" Xanthic looked at Eve. Eve turned a page and then replied without looking at him.

"Yes."

"Did you like it?"

"Yes."

"What did you like about it?" He asked.

"The ending." Eve replied. "It was sad but in the end that was the best option."

"I think there was another approach to it they could have made." Xanthic replied carelessly.

"Oh?"

"If she would have fallen in love with him." He said simply.

"That was impossible for her."

"Not quite. There are ways to win a person over, even if you believe they hate you."

"Her hate is something that cannot be overcome."

"I don't think so. She fell in love with him once, it's not impossible for her to do so again."

"And what then?" Eve finally looked at him. "She would be stuck in a relationship where she would be cheated on again?"

"That was his one time mistake."

"He's meant to be frivolous."

"Frivolous does not mean he cannot love just one person." Xanthic's eyes narrowed, and this time there was a sharp blade hidden in his tone.

"It would be hard for him." Eve replied. "The only reason he wanted her back is because someone else was in love with her. Like if someone was playing with your old toy."

"That's quite a pessimistic way to view it." Xanthic's hand was under his chin and he grinned at her.

"It's the truth."

"Or perhaps he found out how much he loved her while she was gone, how much he missed her."

"That's a possibility but it doesn't change the fact that she certainly didn't miss him." Eve replied, returning her attention to her book.

Xanthic chuckled. "You're pretty set on your opinions."

"So are you."

"Less so than you."

"Oh really?" Eve asked.

"I think so." Xanthic replied.

"You are poorly mistaken, I'm afraid."

Before either of them could continue, Amelia shut her book with a sharp snap. "I'm sorry to be so rude, but could both of you please stop talking?" She pointed to a sign in the corner that read, _Silent Zone._ "I'm trying to read."

Xanthic whistled.

"What about you Amelia? Have you read The Sorrow of a Spring Day?"

"Please don't ignore me." She said with a frown.

"You just ignored my question." Xanthic replied.

"Yes, I've read it." She replied, a little annoyed.

"Did you like it?" Asked Xanthic.

"No. I hated it."

"Oh?"

"She should have been with him." Amelia said softly, she hesitated before going on. "It was clear that he was madly in love with her and that if she had given him a second chance, things would have gone much better for the both of them. Now please, keep your voices down.." She softly. Xanthic gestured to her and raised an eyebrow at Eve who returned his gaze.

"It's never like that in real life." Eve replied, looking away. "People don't trust others that easily. Once someone breaks your heart most can't bear to let them do it again. And based on how serious this book's tone is, it's much more appropriate for it to end the way it did." Xanthic and Amelia were silent.

"Miss Emo over here." Xanthic said finally. Eve smiled a little, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards.

"Please, no need to be so formal."

"My apologies." Xanthic slurred, rolling his eyes.

"I guess I never looked at it that way." Amelia admitted, considering Eve's statement. "I just wanted them to end up together."

"Well I'm sticking with my previous statement." Xanthic put his hands behind his head. "Happy endings aren't usually my thing but I prefer it to the ending of this one."

"Well good for you, I heard there's a sequel being made." Said Eve. Xanthic sat up abruptly.

"Really?" Amelia and Xanthic asked simultaneously. Eve nodded.

"It was announced last spring."

"Sweet." Xanthic replied with a grin. "We can see how it really ends. Twenty lien they get back together." Eve looked up from her book.

"Deal." She said. Xanthic held out his hand and Eve shook it.

"Now I wonder what I should buy with my twenty yen." Xanthic teased.

"Don't act like you've won already." Amelia said with a sigh. Eve held back another smile, placing her book on the table and grabbing the next one in her pile, opening it up to the first page.

* * *

Ten minutes later the group met back up for lunch. They talked about their purchases while their stomachs growled for food. And after a bit of bickering they all decided to head to the food court.

"What'd you call this again?" Xanthic asked while poking his plate of food with a fork.

"It's a chicken cordon bleu roll-up," D'art told him. "Just try it already."

"Don't force him to eat it," Celeste snapped and made a point of eating her salad.

"Relax, I'm not forcing him to do anything."

"Though you've been on edge since we got here," Riliane pointed out. "What up with you, Xanthic?"

Xanthic opened his mouth to answer but they heard another man's gruff voice instead, "Xanthic Picto?"

He turned to face the man with shaggy burnt orange hair and a thick scar on his cheek. "That'd be yours truly."

The man was silent as he scanned Xanthic carefully. "You really don't look anything like Orelon."

"I'm always told I look exactly like my mother," he said proudly.

"Even though your eyes are different?"

"Must be the lighting in here," Xanthic shrugged it off. "But who, might I ask, are you?"

"Basil," he answered plainly. "I'm a friend of your father."

Xanthic chuckled, "Sorry, I just- I find that hard to believe. My father isn't the type to make friends."

They all noticed Basil's gaze wander to Owen and harden into a glare, "He is far more selective in his company than you are."

"Do you have a problem with that?" Owen stood up.

Basil reached over his shoulder and grabbed the hilt of his weapon, "Sit down, Wolfie."

"Let's all relax now," D'art got between the two men who were both taller and more muscular than him. "The food court's no place for a fight." They were both ignoring him as Basil's glare was met with Owen's deep growl.

"I can easily take an old man like you."

"Try it."

"Gladly," Owen rolled his sleeves up.

"Fighting without a weapon, are you a savage or an idiot?"

"Neither, I just don't wanna waste any time in getting it."

"Idiot then." Basil glanced away and saw a clock, with a sigh, he let go of his sword, "I don't have time for idiots." He looked down at his other hand, from what the students could see he was holding a small wood carving of a red bird. Basil walked away without another word.

"I thought you said the Ridge was different than the kingdoms," Owen said bitterly as he sat back down.

"It is, I swear. Whoever that guy is he's not from here," D'art told him and looked at Xanthic. "Is your dad as bad as that guy?"

"N-no! H-he's not at all like that!" Xanthic insisted, "Th-the only times I've seen my father be… aggressive towards faunus it was because him and Mr. Belladonna don't get along- o-on a personal level though! A-and when he thought Prongs was trespassing."

"So he just has bad taste in friends then," Eve muttered.

"I- I guess so… But… I didn't even know he had friends…" Xanthic's blue eyes glanced towards the man again.

* * *

After they finished eating the group trudged through a dirt road outside of town, dragging their feet through the dirt. "Where even is your house, D'art?" Olive groaned, the excitement of the day finally getting to her.

"It's right up here." D'art said, wiping some of the sweat from his brow. They came upon a wooden cabin, quite larger than your average home. It had a patio and a chimney with an entrance to the basement around the side. "Isn't it amazing?"

Xanthic rolled his eyes, "I've seen bigger servants quarters." D'art turned around and frowned in disappointment at Xanthic, which prompted Celeste to let out a chuckle.

"It looks great to me!" Riliane called out cheerfully from the back of the crowd. Causing D'art to smile again for a second until he realised who had spoken up.

D'art opened the doors to show his friends the home. It was 2 bed 2 bath with plenty of room. Trophies and memorabilia donned the walls of every room. "Wow!" Amelia said in her quiet tone, pointing to an ursa head. "Is that real?"

D'art sighed. "Sadly no. But we have plenty of people in town who can make replicas. My favorite piece of treasure though, is this." D'art pulled out a fur coat, marked with the ridge's flag. "I got it after doing some work in the mountains for the people up there. Oh and there's this sword, which Aramais used to cut down a Beowulf from a mile away. And then there's…" D'art droned on and on, with no end in sight. Some of the group took to exploring the house. There were furs of all shapes and sizes, of all colors and animals. Riliane felt the patterns on a few of them, the softness grazing her fingertips. Amelia stumbled into D'arts library, where he had many books, but only in Créte. Olive, excited to rest for a second, searched desperately for a place to lie down. Finally, a bed room. Olive opened it up to see a loud vibrant red room, filled with flowers and knives.

"Uh. Who's room is this?" Olive shouted, pointing inside.

D'art scratched his head. "I don't know. Guess Cerise took the whole house sitting thing as a temporary home. Oh well." D'art went back to rambling about a canoe hanging from the ceiling, letting Olive slip inside the room. She laid on the bed, the sheets warm and comfy. Suddenly, she felt something edge her back. It was a book, hidden under the covers. "Awwwww. Cerise has a book." She opened it up to the first page. It read 'I miss him already. It's only been a week. I try to go and hunt and get my mind off him but I just can't. He's always there in the back of my head, smiling and laughing about life. I need to do something. Maybe I can give this room a redecoration..". Olive kept trying to read, but closed the book as the later chapters were less and less interesting and more about D'art. "Well" Olive wondered out loud "seems like she really likes red." Just then a knock on the door interrupted the afternoon. D'art opened the door to a tired mailman, handing him a letter. "Oh crap! The festival! Nous devons nous déplacer si nous ne voulons pas le manquer!" Everyone sighed collectively, moving out of the house to the festival.

* * *

After checking out the various vendors that stocked handmade crafts and basic weapons the group of eight moved forward to try their hands at the games. "Oi!" The man standing in a booth with a row of rifles facing a wall of scattered targets called out to them. "A huntsman's gotta know how to shoot, right?"

D'art and Owen shared a look before grinning at each other and stepping up. "Losers first," D'art said and ushered for Owen to take a gun.

"What're you waiting for then?" He argued but picked up the rifle regardless. Taking aim Owen closed his right eye to ignore it's advanced input and fired three consecutive times. Lowering the gun the whole group and the man running the station leaned in to see where he hit. Two on the inner ring and one in the center. "Good luck," Owen handed the weapon to D'art who raised the gun to his shoulder and took aim. His three consisted of two bullseyes and one in the inner ring. Owen scoffed, "You're used to these outdated guns. I'm way better with Metalicus Manus."

"Yeah right. If it were to come down to using our own weapons even Xanthic could probably beat you."

"As if!" The two looked at Xanthic who put his hands up. "Even with both of us using a different weapon I'm still a much better shot."

"Then prove it," D'art handed the gun to Xanthic. The two boys of CODE pushed him to the counter for his turn. He lifted the gun awkwardly and attempted to use the sights on it to aim. His first shot hit the wall, along with the second, and the third barely made the outer ring.

"Told you so!" Owen said through his laughter.

"Wow! I didn't think it was possible to be that bad with a gun," D'art joined in the teasing.

Xanthic took a step closer to the man running the stand and asked, "Um… By any chance d-do you have a pistol I could use instead?"

"A pistol?" He scratched his head and pulled a small revolver from his belt, "This is all I've got, but compared to these rifles its accuracy is terrible."

"W-would you mind if I tried anyway?"

"All yours," The man traded guns with Xanthic. Now with a gun that he knew how to hold, Xanthic took a few steps away from the counter and fired once. It hit the outer ring. He paused for a moment before unloading the remaining five bullets, each of which hit a bullseye on a different target.

"Th-thank you," Xanthic handed the now empty gun back and bowed his head.

All three of the men stared at him, but D'art spoke first, "H-how did you do that? None of the kingdoms have weapons like ours…"

The man in charge cleared his throat, "Well technically you took nine shots… But I'd say five in a row's worth a prize."

"Wait, there's a prize?" Riliane asked. The man nodded and pointed at the side wall with prizes ranging from stuffed animals to toy guns. "I'd like to give it a go then."

He looked at her grayed out eyes, "Are you sure about that…"

"Mhm~" She took the second gun and thanks to the noise of the festival her vision was better than ever before. Riliane could even make out the staples on the wooden and canvas targets. Her first shot landed just above the center, "I guess bullets don't move like arrows." The next two were adjusted perfectly as bullseyes.

"Pardon me, but are you not… Blind?" The man asked cautiously.

"I am." Riliane explained, "My semblance allows me to see in a way."

"In that case," He handed a stuffed horse and cat to Riliane and Xanthic respectively. "You ladies should keep an eye on those two boys, make sure they don't get into any trouble."

Xanthic froze as his face grew bright red as he heard the laughter of those two boys. "I, um, I'm not- a-actually I-" His words got stuck in his throat.

"What's the matter _Ms._ Picto?" Owen said giggling. D'art burst into hysterics after that leaving Xanthic mortified and the man extremely confused. As they continued on with their afternoon the two would occasionally make remarks about his identity issue until Celeste would silence them with either a remark about how any of the five women there could beat them senseless or by proving her point by way of punch to the lower back.

* * *

After the shooting range the group headed to the docks near the pond. The lighting of the lanterns was about to begin. D'art and the others hurried to the loading dock, joining the crowd waiting to board the boats. The docks were just outside the pond itself, which was quite large. On the other side, a dark tree line could be seen, overlooking the shore. The water was a beautiful cobalt with the moon reflected on its surface. There were petals and lily pads scattered around the large pond that sat on top of the water. The boats themselves were a vibrant crimson with amber engravings and inscriptions. Each boat had a pole on which hung a unlit lantern.

"Two per boat." Said a middle aged man. He gestured towards the group. Celeste went into the first boat, with Olive requesting that Riliane go with her. Amelia and Olive got on another and D'art and Owen boarded after them leaving Eve and Xanthic to go on the last one.

As the man kicked them off, the noise around them faded and only the sound of water slapping against the side of the boat could be heard. Celeste let her hand hang off the side of the boat, her finger gently brushing the cool surface.

"It's so peaceful." Riliane said softly, her head was turned to the side, observing the pond with her semblance.

"Yeah." Celeste replied. She looked at the other boats around her, and caught a glance of D'art waving at her several feet away.

"It's to celebrate those who died in the war." D'art said solemnly as he looked back at Owen, letting his hand fall back in his lap. "We say a message to the lost souls and send the lanterns into the sky with hopes that they'll find their way."

"How do you know when to light them?" Owen asked.

"You'll know." D'art said simply. He grabbed the oars and paddled so that their boat was in the middle of the pond. "This is the best spot." D'art added. Owen scratched his head.

"Isn't this for couples or something?"

"Meh. We're all friends here." D'art replied with a shrug. Owen smirked.

"You came here with Cerise didn't you?"

"We came here every year." Said D'art, his eyes scanning the water.

"How romantic." Owen cooed.

...

Nearby Eve and Xanthic were silent as their boat slowly drifted on the water. The raven haired girl yawned, leaning back to observe the sky. Stars could be seen, twinkling faintly. Xanthic was tapping his foot up and down, his eyes darting around uncomfortably.

"Please stop." Eve said, unamused. Xanthic looked up at her, and his knee stopped abruptly.

"Sorry." Their boat came dangerously close to Olive and Amelia's and was narrowly steered away.

"Ahoy there." Olive said with a grin. She grabbed her paddle, moving it like a hand would.

"Hello Olive." Eve greeted.

"You guys excited?" Olive asked with a grin.

"I guess." Said Eve.

"You guys have to help me." Amelia said with a groan. Eve glanced at her, confused. "Olive is going to throw herself into the pond after the ceremony." She clarified.

"What? Why?" Eve asked.

"Cause it looks so pretty! And I love to swim. Besides, the water is warm." Olive chirped. Eve put her hand in the water, it was freezing.

Eve shook her head. "You don't even have a change of clothes."

"I don't need them! I'll dry!" Before Eve could respond, a single orb of light rose from the shore, glowering like a flame.

"It started." Eve whispered. Another orb appeared, and then another. Xanthic carefully took the lantern off of the pole and set it in the middle. Eve grabbed the set of matches on the boat and gently struck the side of it against the box, lighting the lantern. Silently, the two wished for something they truly desired. The flame flickered as if it could hear their thoughts, as if it was contemplating their desires. The two opened their eyes simultaneously, their eyes meeting briefly before Eve looked away.

"Ready?" Eve asked. Her hands clutched the frame of the lantern and her fingertips brushed Xanthic's lightly. A chill ran up his spine and he nearly dropped it.

"R-ready." Xanthic stuttered. In sync, they lifted the light up into the air. It floated a little, hovering down before rising up into the sky like a firefly. It glowed quite beautifully. Eve could only smile as it became smaller and smaller. Next to them, Olive and Amelia had done the same thing, their mouths were parted as they watched their lantern float up into the sky.

...

D'art grabbed the lantern off the pole and handed it to Owen who had a match ready. After holding it to the bottom, the lantern flared up.

"To the lives of those who died." D'art muttered, his eyes closing. "May you find what you are looking for and rest in peace. And for this upcoming year, may my friends and I be safe through our battles and have a wonderful school year. I don't know what we're going to run into, but I trust that we'll bear through it as long as we are together." He finished. "Go ahead." D'art said to his friend. Owen nodded and closed his eyes. Several seconds passed before his eyes flickered open, a little sad.

"Ready." He said. The two lifted the lantern up into the air, watching it flicker and glow, illuminating the dark sky around it.

"I hope this will be a great school year." Owen whispered, his hair fell into his eyes. As his fingers brushed his forehead to move it, D'art slapped him on the shoulder.

"I know it will." D'art said with a grin.

...

On the other side of the pond Celeste and Riliane held their lanturn carefully, watching it glow and flicker. Their fingers lay next to each other, hot from contact.

"We're supposed to make wishes right?" Riliane asked, looking up in Celeste's general direction.

"Yeah." Replied Celeste. Riliane nodded and closed her eyes, muttering something to herself. Celeste's eyes rested on Riliane and moved from her forehead to her nose and then to her lips, lingering there before she closed her own eyes. She knew what she wanted to wish for. She had been thinking it for days now. When Celeste finally opened her eyes Riliane was staring at her with a smile.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Now I'm ready." Celeste whispered. The blonde nodded, and together they lifted their lanturn up into the air.

By now the sky was filled with little blazing lights that radiated luminescence. It was as if there were a hundred amber stars in the sky, all moving and growing smaller and smaller by every second that passed. Like a swarm of luminous butterflies flying across the sky, their delicate wings beating and casting golden sparkles into the darkening cobalt sky. It could be mistaken as an artwork, with flicks of paint the color of candlelight and apricot scattered across the sky, or as saffron sequins in the rippling folds of a dark velvet dress.

The water was filled with glaring reflections of marigold lanterns, brilliant and rich. Celeste let her hand cup the brisk water, creating ripples that twisted the reflection of the lanterns in a way where they still retained their previous beauty. The fragrance of pine flew in from the tree line, blending in with the delicate aroma of apricots from the stands back near the festival. A refreshing gust of wind swept across the pond, sending a light spray of water into the boat. Riliane's hair was picked up and thrown into the sky gently. Her hand timidly tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

"What does it look like?" She whispered. Celeste's eyes moved to her.

"It's...amazing. There are so many lights, glowing and flickering."

"What else?" Riliane asked.

"Celeste looked at the sky, her lips parted. "It's how I imagine wishes would look like." Celeste stated.

Riliane smiled a little, "How beautiful."

They stayed there until their lantern could barely be seen and it was just a mere speck of brilliance against the night sky. And then they rowed back to the docks.

...

"That was beautiful." Amelia said, taking the hand of D'art and stepping out of the boat carefully. Olive squeezed her shirt letting some water out of it.

"The pond was nice and refreshing." She said with a grin.

"You're crazy." Owen muttered, eyeing Olive with some distaste.

"It was fun. You all missed out."

"You're going to be all wet and uncomfortable for the rest of the evening."

"Nonsense!" Olive chirped.

"That aside, we should get going." D'art said as he yanked on his backpack. "We have one more destination before the fireworks start."

* * *

When they got to their destination it was 7:50 in the evening and the sky was even darker than before. The light tinge of orange and pink that had swept across the sky was now gone. The group of friends were beginning to tire, their legs sore from walking.

"Where to again?" Owen asked with a yawn.

"The main stage. The history play is about to start." D'art explained, casting a quick glance over his shoulder. Then he pointed in front of him. A large stage loomed up above them. Dark green curtains covered the back of the stage. Lights were embedded into the wood, shining up into the sky. Countless people were seated in front of the stage. D'art and the others squeezed past a few occupied chairs before sitting down in open seats.

"Finally." Celeste groaned. "My legs are so sore."

"Well this play finishes before the fireworks start so we'll have plenty of time to rest." D'art said

with a grin. "It's always really well done. I'm sure you guys will love it."

Several minutes passed and the seats slowly began to fill even more until there was hardly a free spot to be seen. D'art stared at the stage, his brow furrowed.

"It's almost 8:08." Owen muttered.

"Something is wrong. It usually starts right on time." D'art said softly, his blue eyes narrowed

as he fingered the edges of his coat nervously.

"D'art!" Someone whispered. The group turned around, face to face with Aramais. His face was splotchy and red, he took several breaths before speaking again. "Come here." He said quickly. D'art nodded, a little shocked. He got out of his seat before hurrying over to his friend.

"What's wrong?" D'art asked, concerned.

"Several members of the cast were injured." Aramais hissed, making sure no one else could hear them.

"Don't you have backup members?"

"For most of the parts yes. But a few of the backups were also hurt."

"What the hell happened?"

Aramais shook his head. "They were making last minute touch ups to the set but the entire thing fell on a few of them. It was a disaster."

" _Merde._ " D'art hissed under his breath, he looked back at the stage and then at his friend. "Are you going to cancel it?"

"We've never postponed it before. Even when it was raining." Aramais was silent as his expression grew dimmer. " But I guess we have no choice, no one else is young enough to fit the parts needed." He finished, passing a hand over his face. D'art sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He had been looking forward to it, and now his friends couldn't even see it. Then D'art realized something.

"Do you think I could play one of the parts?" He hissed. "I've seen it so many times, I could pull it off."

Aramais stared at him. "I suppose. But we still have three open parts." D'art turned around to stare at his friends who were observing him curiously.

"Oh I know just who to use."

...

It was 8:17 when the curtains finally opened and the audience turned towards the stage with rapt attention. The floor was covered in makeshift brushes and trees. Ivy hung from the lights above the stage in tendrils, leaving curling and twisting shadows on the floor. Emerald lights lay next to golden ones, creating shade and silhouettes. The smell of pine emanated from the stage like fog, either from one of the many machines on the side of the stage, or trees coated with the aroma.

A young man strolled on stage, the upper half of his skin showing as he flexed. Cerise, who was watching from the audience, groaned and shook her head.

"I am Champlain!" D'art yelled, going into a sumo-like position. "I can stop storms with my fist and absorb the snowstorms in the mountains with my-" He paused. "My spirit!" He finished loudly. He punched a large makeshift rock, crying out in pain. "A-And I have created a community where we can live without this horrible weather! La Crete!" He called out. The audience cheered politely. Two figures in black hurried on stage, placing a small cardboard city in the middle of the stage and then hurrying off.

"I am Cabot!" Said another young man who awkwardly hurried onto stage, his chest was also bare with a cheap pelt thrown over it. It was Owen, who looked as uncomfortable as a penguin, his arms were squeezed to his sides as he waddled towards D'art. "I am a liver of this place?" He asked.

"No you're the second chieftain." D'art hissed.

"Second chieftain!" Owen yelled. There were some boos from the crowd and Owen looked like he might piss his pants. He stood there silently, glancing at D'art who gave him a ' _do your thing'_ look. "I am pacify the Ridge!?" Owen yelled. D'art gave him an incredulous look. The audience glanced at each other, confused.

"What he means, is that he _pacified_ other kingdoms to be part of La Crete!" D'art announced with a nervous grin.

"I fought war!" Owen called out, flexing weakly. "I won!? Wait no, I lost! All people slain!" Owen finished. Two other black figures ran onto the stage, carrying red ribbons as they threw them like confetti, symbolizing bloodshed.

"Cabot was the worst leader of La Crete!" D'art called out. The audience booed again.

"You look like an asshole" A young woman muttered to Owen as she strolled onstage. It was Celeste. She wore a pelt coat and had a ridiculous orange scarf thrown over her head to cover her blue hair. "I am Florian." She said lamely, making no effort to act. "I did helpful stuff. I helped with war and stuff. I was really really mad when Vale was mean and banned us from having an academy." Celeste added monotonously.

"Yes!" D'art said with vigor, he moved his arm in front of him and passed a hand over his face. "It was truly unfair. As a result The Ridge blocked fur trade with Vale."

"Oh no." Said Celeste in an unamused tone.

"I am Dumas!" A girl shrieked, doing a cartwheel onto the stage. The girl, Olive, bowed and grinned. "I am our current leader! I set up guardsman and stuff!" The crowd clapped politely. Olive's grin widened at the attention she rarely got. "Yes that's right! I am awesome! Bam!" She did another cartwheel and crushed the small model of the Ridge with her foot. "Oops."

"Oliv- Dumas!" D'art snapped, out of character. "Watch it!"

"I'm sorry! Old Dumas here got excited!" Olive cried.

"Oh no." Celeste said lamely. "The Ridge has been destroyed by our leader Dumas." She finished monotonously.

"NOO!" Owen yelled dramatically.

"The Ridge was not destroyed by Dumas." D'art hissed.

"Dear me" Celeste said slowly. "Whatever shall we do. The evil Dumas will surely finish us off once and for all." Olive laughed evilly and stepped on the model again, this time on purpose. The audience gasped.

"That's right! I will destroy your precious city!" Olive yelled with a cackle.

"Oliv-" D'art began.

"Send your best fighters! I will surely conquer the Ridge and use it for my own evil gains!" Olive interrupted.

"But you're already the chieftain-" D'art started.

"You fiend!" Celeste said, cutting him off. "How dare you. Cabot will surely protect us." Owen glanced at Celeste, bewildered.

"I will?!" He shrieked. "I-I mean I will!"

"Guys stop-" D'art was cut off again as Celeste slammed her hand in his face, suddenly alive with energy.

"Cabot! Destroy him!" Celeste yelled, pointing at Olive/Dumas. The audience gasped and leaned forward in their seats. Cabot/Owen sprinted towards Olive, not knowing what he was supposed to be doing as he tried to punch her. Olive grinned, grabbing him and throwing him over her back.

"You will never defeat me!" Olive laughed maniacally. Owen landed on the ground with a grunt. Forgetting about the play, he ripped a long cardboard branch from the set and spun it in his hands like a lance.

"The tree!" D'art cried out.

"You're on!" Hissed Owen. He sprinted towards Olive, dodging a kick and whacking her in the side with the branch. Olive did a backflip, grabbing a short branch from the set and holding her hand out towards Owen, gesturing for him to come at her.

"Cabot and Dumas fight for the fate of The Ridge!" Celeste called out.

"Guys!-" D'art cried out. Celeste grabbed D'art, throwing him offstage before turning back towards the fight.

"And Cabot scores with a sick uppercut to Dumas's chin!" She yelled. The audience cheered, several people standing up with excitement.

"My my." Said an elderly woman. "I didn't remember my history books being this interesting."

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The audience cheered, catcalls and whistles rang throughout the night. Owen was grinning, his nervousness was gone as he jumped over Olive, kicking her in the back. As she fell forward he hit her with his makeshift spear, snapping it in half.

"Oh my! Cabot's spear has broken! Whatever shall he do now?!" Celeste questioned loudly.

"Fist fight! Fist fight!" The crowd cheered. Olive threw her sword to the side, blocking a punch as she twisted Owen's arm behind his back. Grunting, Owen threw himself onto the ground, Olive beneath him as the two completely crushed the model of The Ridge.

"What a sight!" Celeste yowled. "Dumas and Cabot have destroyed the remainder of the Ridge by their fight!" The crowd gasped. Olive rolled away, letting Owen stand up to recover before dodging a punch and executing a roundhouse kick. Her foot slammed into his face, knocking him back into the background set. The cardboard trees and makeshift bushes crumpled under his weight.

"What a powerful kick!" Celeste shouted. The crowd cheered. Owen tilted his head to the left, dodging another kick as he grabbed her leg and yanked her forward. Olive fell to the ground with a shriek as Owen swung her around like a toy, throwing her into the rest of the set.

"I never knew Cabot was such a hunk!" Celeste yelled. The crowd went crazy. D'art, who was currently staring at the chaos with wide eyes whimpered a little.

"Dumas is going to have my head for this." He muttered. Olive, who was still grinning, was about to stand before she looked above her, eyes wide. A large wooden tree slowly tilted in her direction, falling towards her. Olive held up her arms for protection. But before it fell, Owen threw himself over her. The large tree cracked against his back, pieces of it falling onto the stage like parts of a table. The crowd went silent, eyes wide. The space where Owen and Olive once were was covered by the remainders of the tree.

Suddenly, an arm appeared out of the pile of broken wood. There were gasps. Owen rose from the debris with a grin. The crowd cheered as Olive stood beside him.

"Cabot risked his life to save Dumas! What do you know?! In the end of the day Cabot was the hero!" Celeste announced loudly. The crowd cheered even louder.

"Cabot! Cabot! Cabot!" They cried. Owen grinned at the crowd, and then at Olive who beamed.

"And that marks an end to our production!" Celeste said with a grin, she walked up to Olive and Owen and the three bowed in sync.

And that was the first full standing ovation the Ridge History Play had ever gotten.

* * *

Later as teams ROXA and CODE were making their way to the firework show, Celeste made her way over to walk with Riliane.

"Hey, Riliane?" Celeste called.

"Yes?" Riliane turned to were Celeste's voice was coming from.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how exactly are you going to watch the fireworks?" Celeste asked, looking over to the blind girl.

"Fireworks?" Riliane asked, not quite knowing what Celeste was talking about.

"Yeah, we're going to see the firework show. Did nobody tell you?"

"Um no, I was just told it was time to go." After pausing for a few seconds she continued with a whisper "I'm honestly not quite sure what fireworks even are. I assume we are going to be doing some work with fire?" Riliane heard the footsteps beside her stop, and she turned to 'look' behind her. A quiet chuckle signaled that Celeste had stopped behind her.

"No, we are not going to be working. Fireworks are like big colorful explosions in the sky," Celeste explained, continuing to walk next to Riliane.

"That sounds dangerous. What if someone gets hurt?" Riliane asked. The sound of Celeste laughing again was beginning to interest Riliane.

"They're just sparks that die out before they touch the ground. Nothing to be worried about."

"Oh, that doesn't sound too bad."

"Exactly. The only bad part about fireworks is the noise." Celeste looked over to see a questioning glance from Riliane. "You'll understand when you hear it." The group arrived at their spot; picked out earlier by Dart. They sat down and began discussing events from the festival. Riliane and Celeste were talking about how one of the festival games was rigged so Celeste couldn't win, when a loud whistling sound could be heard above all the music, talking, etc. Celeste's attention was however drawn to Riliane reaching for her bow.

"Don't worry, it's just the fireworks." She yelled, placing her hand on Riliane's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. BOOM.

"Oh. You were right they are loud." Riliane yelled back. BOOM. CRACKLE CRACKLE. As Riliane "watched", her semblance lit up with each explosion. Erratic sound waves danced across the sky reflecting off the raining shrapnel. "Wow" Riliane said just barely loud enough for Celeste to hear.

Staring at the other girl's awed expression, Celeste decided to speak up, "They're all different kinds of colors. Nothing too fancy though. We have better ones back home. Bigger, and more colorful." Riliane hummed to acknowledge she heard, though she would have to take Celeste's word on the matter. She continued to listen to the fireworks occasionally flinching at the really loud ones as they proved too much for her semblance. The firework show lasted throughout the night, and after a few hours the two teams made their way back to the hotel for the night.


	11. Chapter 10

Riliane woke up as usual, the Ridge feeling like a lifetime ago now, sitting up and stretching her arms before jumping out of bed. Her left foot landed on a surface that was definitely not the floor and snapped under her weight. "Ah!" She activated her semblance to pull the shards out of her foot. The wounds closed quickly and the two teammates in the room got up in a hurry.

Olive was next to her in an instant, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I just stepped on something."

"Maybe you should use your semblance more often," Amelia offered cautiously as she knew Riliane didn't want to rely too heavily on it.

"It was just one time," Riliane insisted. "What is this anyway?" She picked up the largest piece of curved porcelain. In addition to the sharp broken edge there was an oval shaped hole.

"Not mine," Olive pointed out crossing her arms in an "X" and looked to Amelia who shook her head. "It must be Xanthic's then."

"What must be mine?" Xanthic opened the door and walked in still adjusting his school uniform and hat.

Riliane stood and hid the piece of porcelain behind her back until she was in front of her partner. "There was… something on the ground and I, um, accidentally stepped on it… Sorry…"

"Huh? Don't worry about it, I can probably get another," Xanthic said trying to think of what she could have been talking about it.

Then she showed him and Olive peeked over her shoulder, "Really? Cause it looks pretty expensive…"

He recognised the shard instantly and his eyes flashed bright green. None of them had ever seen him so angry before, "What. Did. You. Do?"

"Li- like I said it was on the ground… And… It was an accident. Um… What is it?" She was taken aback by his sudden attitude change.

"My mask." Xanthic took the piece from her hand aggressively. He pushed her out of the way and walked to the space between their beds finding the other parts. Some of them were nothing more than slivers.

"What's the problem? You said you could just get another." Riliane recovered from her shock.

"Of course you wouldn't see the problem here! I didn't realise you had destroyed the most valuable thing I own!" He made to leave but Olive teleported to block the door.

"What's gotten into you, Xan? You never yell." She looked sincerely concerned.

"What's gotten into me is that one of the few things actually important to me is now gone and there's nothing that can be done about it!"

"We can all pitch in to help, surely it's not that expensive." Riliane offered letting his earlier comment slide.

"You don't get it! Just shut up! Sometimes I'd prefer if you were mute instead of blind!" His last word echoed through the room at an almost deafening volume causing all of them to cover their ears in pain and Riliane lost her balance. He took the chance to move past Olive and run out.

Once he was out of the room the noise faded and Olive helped Riliane up and tried to lighten the mood with a joke, "Not a good day for you is it?"

"I guess not," She responded with slight agitation.

"We should get to class…" Amelia said slowly and gathered her things.

"What about Xanthic?" Olive asked despite also starting to get ready.

"I think he just needs some time to himself for now."

"Hm… Alrighty~"

* * *

Xanthic had ran to the rooftop of the dorm. He stopped and took in the view of Beacon Tower while panting. He sat down cross-legged and still holding onto the piece of his mask he brought it up to the morning sun, its metallic paint glittered. "You don't need to tell me that," He said bitterly to no one in particular. "But how would you feel if it was your necklace or this stupid hat? Besides… You wouldn't understand…" He sat in silence for nearly an hour, "They'll want an explanation. So are we going to tell them the truth or have you got another complicated lie cooked up?"

* * *

The three girls attended all of their classes without any sign of Xanthic. At lunch they sat with their friends of team CODE. "Is Xanthic not feeling well today?" D'art asked.

"No, he probably just needs some space today…" Amelia told them.

"Oh, that's awful," Owen said having read her mind to understand what she meant.

"Care to share with the rest of us?" Celeste asked. Owen's lack of privacy always annoyed her.

Olive decided to take over and used overdramatic gestures, "Liany accidentally broke a really expensive thing and Xan got real upset. He yelled so loud you guys probably heard it too."

"I thought that might have been him," Eve pointed out. "He did something similar during initiation."

"Pardon me," A voice they recognised interjected. Moonracer, the oldest of the infamous quadruplets had sat in the open seat. "I believe someone said they broke something?"

"I don't suppose you're a good handyman are you?" Riliane halfheartedly joked.

"If you're looking for someone that's good with tools then Tigre's the man you want, but I can fix almost anything." He boasted his abilities. Handing a fork to Owen, "Break this in half." They were both silent for awhile and they all knew they were talking telepathically.

"That's awesome," Owen's eyes lit up and he easily snapped the metal fork.

"Thank you," Moonracer smiled taking back both pieces. Himself and the metal began glowing a faint green. They all watched in awe as the fork returned to it's original shape. "My semblance, rejuvenate. So what is it that you need fixed?"

"I broke Xanthic's mask this morning," she explained.

"Any chance you remember the time?"

Riliane turned to Amelia then- "You wake up at 8:12 everyday," Olive pointed out as if it was obvious.

"You memorised when I get up?"

"Yep~ Exactly 8:12. Xan gets up at 7:30. And Amy's precisely 8:10."

Muttering more to himself now Moonracer said, "So then at 8:11 it was whole again… It'll be a bit difficult but I can do it… Just bring me all the pieces later." Moonracer smiled at Amelia before rejoining his brothers at their own table.

* * *

After their second set of classes Riliane couldn't sit still in the dorm with her other teammates, but knew very well that she couldn't just search the entire campus. "Do you two have any idea where he might have gone?"

"Maybe it's the same place he goes to in the middle of the night," Amelia suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you not notice him sneaking out at night?" Olive asked.

"N-no I didn't…"

"I thought about following him one time, but I was having a nice dream."

"Right, hmm…" She tried to think of somewhere Xanthic might go to be alone and thought back to their first day. "I'll be back," Riliane called while halfway out the door. The path to the rooftop was still fairly clear in her memory. Her joy ended when she was facing the door and she had to take a deep breath to brace herself before slowly opening it, "Xan-"

"What do you want Riliane?" Her partner was laying on his back with his hat next to him holding what seemed to be a piece of the porcelain mask in his hand. He had also taken off his jacket.

"H- how'd you know it was me?" She hadn't even said a word and she could tell that he wasn't facing her.

"That door only creaks when it's opened slowly, meaning you were cautious and looking for something and I doubt Amelia would be that concerned over me," Xanthic explained duly, clearly showing his current irritation. "Now what do you want?"

"I- I just wanted to make sure you were alright…" Riliane walked over next to him. "None of us have ever seen you act like that before…"

"You've never seen me act any way. Speaking of which, you might not be able to see, but I have quite a view from here so either step back or sit down." Xanthic received a heavy kick to his side but chuckled regardless, "Didn't think you'd like blue that much."

"What's wrong with you Xanthic!? You're usually so sweet and nice."

His laughter stopped suddenly, "I think you mean meek and pathetic."

"No, I mean someone who's compassionate," Riliane corrected. "I always thought that's what you were till now…"

"Sorry for bursting your bubble, princess, but most people with money don't let the public see how they actually are. Thought you'd know that already."

"So this is just- just… The real you?" Riliane got more upset than she knew she should have and forced herself to calm down before speaking, "What's so important about that mask anyway?"

"Hmm…" Xanthic turned his head away from her for a while before turning back. She could feel his gaze scan all the way from her toes to her face. "There's a small list of people that are allowed to know about that and as of right now," He paused and smirked seeing her anticipation, "It's empty."

"Really!? Aren't partners supposed to tell each other things? Do you not trust me or something!?"

"I don't recall that being one of the requirements of enrollment here. I'd rather have enlisted at Atlas then."

"So you just don't care about anyone but yourself, is that it?"

"Yep. Just me, myself, and I." Xanthic sighed and muttered almost inaudibly to himself, "Maybe for once I just don't want to listen to you."

"What did I say?" Riliane demanded, she had tried her best to be a good friend, partner, and leader. "I can't believe you're the same person that gave me advice on this roof the first day…"

"Has it really never passed through your head that I might not be!?" He suddenly jumped up. "Is it really so easy to mistake me for that stammering idiot!? For the love of- Honestly! Owen's probably the only one with even a clue and that's because he's been cheating!"

"Wha- what are you talking about Xanthic?" Riliane took a small step back from his sudden aggravation.

"That!" He aggressively poked at her collarbone, "That stupid name! I'm sick of being called that!" He turned his head to the side as if talking to someone else, "No! I have just as much right to live how I want as you do and I'm done with nobody else knowing it!" He faced Riliane again and somehow managed to lock his eyes with hers. "My name is Nivens." Silence followed his words along with an unexpected wave of relief forcing him to step backwards and allow some distance between them. "I never thought I'd say that here…" A smile returned to his face with a pleasant hum.

"X-Xan- Er… Nivens?" Riliane's anger completely faded and was replaced with confusion.

"Yes m'lady?" Nivens was ecstatic to finally be called by his proper name.

"Can- Would you mind explaining a bit more?"

"Right, of course, though you have to promise me something first." Stepping close again he held her arms and spoke seriously, "You can't mention any of this to anyone."

"Weren't you just upset about no one knowing though?"

"True, but there is a reason why I can't just go about telling everyone. Answers only lead to more questions, and I like to avoid personal questions."

"Ri-right then. Whatever it takes for you to trust me."

"That really does mean a lot. Right, oh boy, I've never had to do this before where to start?"

"The beginning's usually a good place to start," Riliane offered.

"Usually, but neither of us are quite ready for the beginning. Mind if we stick to the short version for now?"

"I'll take what I can get at this point."

"Good. Well basics are I am Nivens, the unknown half of Xanthic Picto and basically the exact opposite. When the little crybaby was even littler he needed someone carry him through the lonely days and by some miracle his imaginary friend became yours truly."

"That… Doesn't make any sense…"

Nivens shrugged, "I think we settled our self diagnosis on some weird split personality disorder. Neither of us really care much about the science behind it. As we understand it; though, we're just two people sharing a body with a lot of similar opinions, but they hardly ever line up exactly. Oh! Probably an important tidbit, we can block each other out and form individual memories."

It took a moment for everything to sink in before Riliane had a sudden thought, "Is that what Olive and Amelia were talking about with your eyes changing colors?"

"I didn't realise they noticed. Probably shouldn't be surprised with those two, you never really know what's going on with them. But yeah, that's something we noticed a long while back, Xanthic's eyes are deep blue like our mom's, um… try to imagine dark and cold ocean water I guess, and mine are a bright green like… limes? Or the energy from my weapon?" He gave a short sigh, "You probably don't really care about that part all too much, though."

"Nono, I've heard a saying about eyes being the window to the soul, so I think it's pretty neat."

"Riliane."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"Oh right! I have really good news," Riliane thought back to lunch. "I know a how to fix your mask."

"How?" He was skeptical, "Some of it is just slivers."

"Apparently Moonracer has a really convenient semblance and can fix almost anything."

He perked up, "Really?"

Riliane nodded, "He said something about time and that we just need to bring him all the pieces."

"Then what are we waiting for," Nivens quickly put his hat back on after emptying something into his pockets from it. After briefly returning to their own dorm to retrieve the pieces they nearly sprinted to team SDTM's room. Because he didn't bother knocking Nivens opened the door to quite a scene; they had rearranged the four beds into bunk beds and pressed them against the walls, Dan and Tigre were roughhousing in the middle of the room, and Moonracer was leaning back against Simba, who was sitting in the only clean desk, helping him with his schoolwork. "Moony," He held the shards out to the boy with long hair and lion ears.

"Hm? Oh, you got here sooner than I expected." Moonracer held both his hands out as the pieces were handed over. "If it was in good condition at 8:11 it's now…"

"4:13," Simba pointed out.

"So that's," He tried to do the math mentally.

"8 hours and 2 minutes," Nivens said with only a brief pause.

"Impressive," Moonracer admired his math skill. He closed his eyes, a faint green glow covered himself and all the pieces. The partners watched in awe as the mask slowly reformed itself. Even the cracks disappeared and a clock pattern was revealed.

"Thank you!" Overcome with relief and joy Nivens hugged Moonracer, who was now somewhat winded, before taking back his mask and leaving. He peeked back through the door, "Let me know what I can do to repay you later!"

"Wish I was the one with your semblance," Tigre said as he and Dan had paused from the sudden outburst.

"Chill bro. That's the Picto kid. You wouldn't have a chance either way." Dan laughed and pushed his brother off.

"Doesn't change the fact he's cute."

"Right, well, see you all around," Riliane decided to leave as she didn't really want to know more about how they live together. She was easily able to catch up with Nivens in the hall as he had stopped for some reason. "Nivens?"

"No…" Her partner was looking down at the mask in his hands.

"Oh, Xanthic?"

"Mhm…" He nodded along with the somber hum.

"Is something the matter?"

"I… Y-you don't think I'm st-strange?"

"Of course I do, but why do you make that sound like a bad thing?"

"Bec-cause it is…"

"I don't think so," Riliane moved in front of him and pointed at her eyes. "Unless you think my strange is bad too?"

"Wha- N-no of c-course not!" Xanthic nearly dropped the mask in his flusterdness.

She smiled, "Then what makes your strange so bad?"

"I um… Well, m-most kids make friends wi-with other kids, n-not themselves…"

"I wouldn't know."

"R-right, sorry…"

"But if your parents were like mine, then why did Nivens say you were so lonely?"

"Oh, um… My p-parents and I re-really weren't that close to begin with… Lucent, m-my grandfather, passed when I w-was four and they got really di-distant for a long time. I just… I really didn't have anyone i-in my life until I was se-seven."

"I'm… so sorry," Riliane reached out to her partner.

"Don't w-worry about it," Xanthic avoided her hand and continued walking towards their dorm.

They entered and Olive instantly jumped up to greet them, "Welcome back Xan~"

"H-hey Olive…" After closing the door Xanthic held the brim of his hat and bowed his head, "I um… I'm s-sorry about this morning. I o-overreacted and j-just… Sorry…"

"It was clearly really important to you, so it makes sense you'd be so upset," Amelia accepted his apology.

Olive nodded, "No problemo over here." Xanthic smiled faintly and carefully placed the mask on his nightstand before getting ready for bed.


	12. Chapter 11

"Amy~" Amelia, who had been enjoying her free time reading outside, felt a sudden warm breeze as her partner appeared next to her. "Whatcha been up to?"

She simply held her book up higher, "I was hoping to finish it today."

"Oh, what's this one about?"

"Evil spirits have plagued the holy forest and the fairy king must fight alongside human warriors to save his homeland." Amelia blushed slightly, "It's pretty cliché isn't it?"

"A little. But if it's good, then it's good, right?" Olive smiled brightly at her as usual which caused Amelia to smile back. "I did kinda wanna talk to you about something though, Amy."

"Wh-what is it?" She had never seen Olive be serious outside of combat and grew concerned.

"The tattoo on your back-"

"Th-that's nothing really- I just thought it'd be kinda cool is all," Amelia knew this wasn't going to be an easy talk and stood up, ready to run when she needed to.

"Don't worry~" Olive chuckled, glad that she was right, and stood on her toes to wrap her arms over Amelia's shoulders. "I won't tell anyone~"

"Th-thank you…" She couldn't help but relax at her partner's innocent reassuring tone.

"You should probably know about my family then though…"

"Huh, why?"

"I've seen your emblem before."

"What, how?"

"Seven years ago my father went on a mission with my aunt and cousin to either capture or exterminate a large team of bandits." Olive stepped back and held her weapon by the blade so that Amelia could see the symbol on it's hilt. Just above the small hole threaded with green string was an engraving that resembled a shurikan. "It was the Braz Clan that wiped out the Crayne Bandits. He brought home a scrap of fabric stitched with the same mark as your tattoo."

"I…" How was Amelia supposed to respond to that? The first person she had begun to feel close to after that tragedy turns out to be the cause of it. She couldn't decide if she wanted to run away or punch Olive in the face.

"I'm sorry, I just thought you should know." Olive disappeared with the wind.

"I thought you were going to get Amelia," Riliane said noticing only one new set of footsteps next to her.

"She wanted to read instead," Olive shrugged her shoulders and continued walking alongside Riliane and Xanthic.

"I thought she'd be into this kind of thing…" Xanthic mumbled showing slight concern.

"Well she is kinda strange," Olive said nonchalantly making the others stop and look at each other.

Riliane chuckled, "I guess our whole team is full of weirdos."

"Ri-right," Xanthic laughed uneasily with her.

"You guys think I'm weird too?" Olive seemed legitimately confused.

"Of course," Riliane admitted.

"Why's that?" She pouted.

"Hmm… Because I can't figure out which part of you is real?"

"What~ I'm not like Owen, silly, all of me is real."

"Obviously I can tell that much, I meant personality wise. You're always like, well, you and you never really seem to take training seriously, but in actual combat you're like a completely different person." Riliane explained carefully, refraining herself from comparing Olive's strange personality to Xanthic's split one.

"The heart muddles the mind and slows the body, so one must fight without mercy," Olive recited her family's teachings to them.

"Um… No offense Olive, but your family sounds really scary…"

"Don't worry, they are." She chuckled. Spinning on her toes Olive faced down the hallway and pointed, "Anyway~ Onward to the theatre!"

Amelia was still standing in the spot that Olive had left her at. "The Braz Clan…" She mumbled to herself. The shuriken marking, had she seen it before? Trying to think back to when she was ten Amelia forced herself to remember the faces of all the people she lost that night.

...

It had been a peaceful fall day, just like any other. The leaves were beautiful combinations of reds and yellows, they fell to the ground in graceful swirls. There weren't even any plans for the day, so everyone was helping around camp with chores. Tarps and cloaks were drying on ropes tied between the trees, distant animal calls could be heard from those out hunting for dinner, others were polishing weapons and patching up clothes. A little Amelia stayed by the side of her adoptive father, Wallace, and tried her best to help him organise the loot from the band of thieves' last raid. Everything was as it normally was, no one would have expected things to go so wrong. The horn signalling intruders sounded and startled everyone, but they were even more concerned by it being cut short. Wallace acted quickly with Amelia as his priority. He wrapped a light brown cloth around her, in addition to a black and silver scarf, and picked the small girl up. Finding a large basket he put the ten-year old inside, "Wait here for me. Don't move and don't make a sound." Wallace fit the wicker lid on top and Amelia could hear him run out.

She was scared, but also wanted to fight alongside those she thought of as her family. Her father would be upset if she disobeyed him though, so she stayed put. It felt like an eternity of yelling to her and she was about to get out when she could hear somebody coming closer. It must have been one of the attackers as they were rummaging through the things in the tent. Were they being attacked by another group of bandits? It should have been a short fight then, Amelia thought. But her next one was panic. Her basket shook slightly as hands grabbed it. Not a few seconds later the lid was pulled off and she briefly saw a woman with burgundy hair and bright red eyes, the rest of her face was covered by a teal scarf. The fear in her body prevented Amelia from thinking about what she was doing. The brown cloth she had been wrapped with jumped up on it's own and surrounded the woman giving her the opportunity to run away. She ran out hugged her father as soon as she found him. Wallace jumped from the sudden touch, "A-Amelia!?" He looked around frantically before picking her up and running. Suddenly stopping he raised his knife which collided with a katana. A man with long hair and eyes both the colour of fresh blood stared the two down. The majority of his expression was covered by an armoured mask. After a moment of stillness the man quickly maneuvered around the pair and tore off the part of Wallace's coat with his emblem. With his back turned to them they could clearly see the large shuriken imprinted on his back.

"I suggest you hurry if you want them to believe me." The man said cooly before walking back towards the camp and his comrades. Wallace forced his anger and pride away to protect Amelia. He ran as instructed to. Deep into Forever Falls Forest. Where he would live the rest of his life with Amelia until he passed from sickness.

...

Was it really only three people that did all that? And that man, with the blood red features, was Olive's father? Did he let them go because he had daughters of his own? Would her and Wallace have died then and there if it wasn't for Olive and her sister being born? If it had been either of the others?

These thoughts made Amelia stagger backwards. She held her head and sat down. With so many thoughts swirling around in her mind she couldn't focus on any of them properly. Her state of confusion somehow made the time fly by, she had no idea when the sun had begun setting. It was nearly dark now and Amelia still couldn't come up with any answers of her own. The gentle breeze that came startled her, "Amy?"

"O-Olive… I-"

"You should come back for dinner, Xan and Lainy are getting worried about you."

"You um… your-" Amelia looked at the ground. "Th-the fabric you mentioned…" A small piece of green fabric with a white embroidered crane was lowered into her view. The shade of green was exactly the same as she remembered. She looked up to meet Olive's eyes, they were the same blood red as her father and aunt, "Wh-when did you..?"

"We went into Vale today to see a play and I left to get that from home. I thought you might want it."

"I…" She cautiously reached up to grab the fabric. Studying the crane pattern again she held it tightly to her chest, "Th-thank you…"

"You shouldn't."

"Olive, will you… Will you tell your father something for me?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Could you thank him?

"Thank him?" Olive repeated with surprise. "Why would you-"

"Because… We were going to be attacked by huntsmen someday," For whatever reason Olive being there gave Amelia the rationality she needed, "And if it had been anyone else, then I'd have died that day too. And I never would have been able to meet his amazing daughter…"

"What do you mean?"

"Um… You told me one time about how ruthless your father is about fighting, but he let me and my father go. I… I think it was because he thought of you and Roschelle when he saw me…"

"Hmm…" Olive thought about that possibility for a moment before deciding, "Nope. Rule one, "Never allow your kin to dull your blade." There must have been some other reason if he really did just let you go."

"Oh…" Amelia only just realised how difficult it must have been for Olive, especially since she said her mother wasn't very different.

Olive giggled suddenly and held her hand out to help Amelia up, "Maybe he could just tell how awesome you'd be and wanted you to have the chance to help people instead of steal from them."

"M-maybe…" She carefully took Olive's hand and was pulled to her feet. The two girls began walking back to their dorm, "So what are we having tonight?"

"Huh? I don't know," Olive shrugged overdramatically. "Xan and Lainey said they'd take care of it tonight."

"C-can either of them cook?"

"Hmm… Probably not~" They laughed together and took half-hearted bets on where they'd have to get from the school's cafeteria.


	13. Chapter 12

**(AN 10/5/17: Due to the content of this chapter the writers would like to state that the chapter planning goes about a month back, and as such it's relation to current events is a horrible coincidence. We all feel absolutely terrible about the recent event and our hearts and prayers, for those of us that are religious, go out to the families of the victims. If you are especially sensitive to the topic then please proceed with caution but know that we will refrain from any grotesque imagery as well as being careful to not cross the fragile line of telling a story with tragic events and being disrespectful towards those that have experienced such things.)**

As the eight students walked around Vale aimlessly, not sure what to do now that their movie had finished, they came across the CCT and found it surrounded by faunus holding White Fang flags and signs proclaiming their desires for equality. "Oh right," Owen spoke casually, "I forgot that was today."

"What's today?" Riliane asked roughly facing the direction of the noise.

"It's a rally for the White Fang," Celeste described the flags and signs to her.

"It's nice to see so many faunus together, but I wish more humans actually cared," Eve mumbled.

They heard a familiar voice call out from the crowd, "I told you he'd still come!" Two of their classmates jogged over to them. "Thanks to you Moony now owes me five lien," Simba laughed proudly.

"I thought you were joking about that…" Moonracer sighed.

"We were just wandering around, I didn't really-"

"Whatever," Simba interrupted, "You're here now, so why don't we introduce you to everybody?"

"Um…" Owen turned to his friends and with the exception of Xanthic nobody was objecting. "Yeah, alright."

"Great!" Simba grabbed his metal hand and pulled him towards the crowd. Moonracer calmly followed with the others. Xanthic sighed before taking his coat off and folding it over to hide his emblem before joining them. Getting a closer look at the people participating they were surprised to see almost every type of faunus and person. A few older men were leading the unanonymous chants, but there was even a little girl with a fox tail and her reptilian parents. Celeste scanned the crowd as if looking for somebody, but quickly gave up.

"So where are the other two?" Eve asked.

"Dan feels more important when he stands in the middle," Moonracer explained. "And Tigre refuses to let him be by himself."

"Really? I never really pictured him as-" D'art stopped abruptly as the blast from an explosive shook the ground. "What was that!?"

They all turned and saw the crowd now in a full panic as gunshots rang out, "Di- did they actually show up this time!?" Simba was stunned.

"Dan!" Moonracer jumped and moved toward the fleeing people, but was stopped by his brother.

"Tigre's with him, they'll be fine. We need to get everyone else out of here!" He ordered ignoring the questions of ROXA and CODE and the teams in general actually. The two faunus ran off together.

"If anyone is hurt they're gonna need more help," Owen decided and followed them.

"Right, come on guys!" Celeste called in her locker, as did everyone but Olive and Amelia who always have their weapons on them, and lead the others to find who was shooting.

Xanthic put his coat back on while moving to follow them, but hesitated as he saw his own leader stumble and use her staff for support. "A-are you alright?"

"Y-yeah I just… I'm…" She sighed, "We're gonna have to use Golden Eye," She told him regretfully.

"Alright, I di-didn't really wanna get tha-that close honestly…" With a deep breath a large yellowish bubble formed around the partners and Riliane instantly was able to see clearly again now that the overwhelming noise was muffled somewhat. Transforming Laevateinn to its bow form they moved to find a good spot to support their friends.

* * *

Seeing a gunman dressed in white amongst the crowd Olive went ahead of everybody by teleporting next to him and slashing his arm. She was surprised to see blood and jumped back when he swung the rifle with his good arm at her. In an instant the weapon was on the ground as Amelia's scarf knocked it out of his hand. An arrow glowing bright green flew past both of the girls and hit the man's right shoulder and burned what appeared to be a uniform. They turned and saw the other members of their team and Amelia gave a short wave. "One down," Olive reported through her face mask as the three members of CODE got closer.

Eve froze upon seeing the man clearly, "No…" It was as if one of her nightmares had suddenly come true. As if her memories and fears had taken over her world without her noticing. There were screams mixed with the sound of gunfire. Cries of terror as adults pushed past teenagers, and teenagers pushed past children. There were families calling out for each other across the space caked with smoke, dust and the smell of blood. Amongst all the chaos, Eve stood still. Her legs were frozen to the ground as she trembled, her eyes wide and unblinking.

A man emerged into her view with an assault rifle, he shot several shots into the air and cackled. The left side of his shirt was ripped off, revealing a black tattoo on his shoulder. It was a brand of some sort. A chill ran down Eve's spine as her eyes fell upon the mark, as the very same one on rested on her shoulder.

The man rammed his gun into the side of a faunus that was huddled on the ground. They coughed and rolled onto their side. Eve covered her mouth with her hand as her breathing became shallow. The face of the faunus was scrunched up in pain, a familiar expression that stirred something within her. Eve shook her head and took a step backwards. Her vision swirled around her before she lost consciousness and became swallowed in a long lost memory.

...

Pain. That was the expression on it's face. Eve stared at it, silent. The faunus crawled up on itself and spat blood at her feet, it's eyes boiling with hatred and loathing. I'll kill you. They seemed to say. Eve instinctively looked away before Vincent grabbed her chin and forced her to stare at it again.

"Look at it." He hissed into her ear. Eve winced.

"I didn't know the training regimen consisted of watching torture." Eve snapped.

"I didn't know you would care." Vincent pushed her back. "Your eyes should be trained for something for this, I don't know why you're reacting in such a way." Eve was silent.

"I understand that this is rather soon. You're only ten or so. But you need to learn how to live with this." Eve shook her head. Vincent continued, "You're one of the best fighters here but you don't deserve that title if you're going to act like this." Eve grit her teeth but said nothing as the door slammed behind him. Only her and the injured faunus were left in the room. She was seething, anger boiling inside her as her hands curled into fists. Outraged, she screamed and rammed her fist into the concrete wall. Pain seared through it like a hot knife, but she didn't care.

The faunus was staring at her, blood dripping out the corner of it's mouth. It's eyes were black. They were filled with hatred, intermingled with hopelessness. It was the same expression Eve saw whenever she looked into a mirror. Trembling, she slid down to the ground and cradled her hand. The faunus continued to look at her, it's eyes unblinking.

"Stop it." Eve whispered. "Don't look at me." She pulled her legs to her chest and hid her face. And then she cried. Tears slid down her cheeks as she began to bawl uncontrollably. The faunus peered at her, emotionless.

Eve didn't know if it was dead or alive.

...

"Eve!" D'art screamed unaware of her current reality. He spun around, searching for his partner. One minute she had been standing there and then she had disappeared with the panicked crowd. Worry ate at him relentlessly as his eyes scanned across the battlefield. Where are you? Come on Eve. And then he saw her. She was sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Cursing under his breath, D'art sprinted towards her and, with a grunt, picked her off the dirt. Gunshots whisked past them, nearly making him fall.

"Oh come on." D'art snapped. "Eve wake up! We could really use your help right now!" He yelled as he dodged a swipe from a random grunt and sprinted in the opposite direction. Eve was silent, limp as D'art carried her across the battlefield.

It took them what seemed like an eternity to reach an abandoned shop near the square. It's roof had been destroyed, leaving a canopy of concrete that leaned against the ground. Carefully, D'art set her on the rubble.

"Eve, wake up." He shook her, but Eve remained silent. D'art's eyes widened. He grabbed her arm and felt for her pulse, letting out a breath of relief when he felt it.

"Look at you." He muttered. "Taking a cat nap when everyone else needs your help." D'art knelt next to his partner and kept his hand tightly on his weapon. Despite his every urge to join his comrades on the battlefield, he stayed by his partner's side, silent.

* * *

Back in the chaos the combat halted for nobody, Celeste charged at one of the gunmen nearby. Knocking his weapon out of his hand, she slashed across his chest with her blade.

"Celeste, they don't have aura," she heard Amelia yell. She quickly looked at the man to see blood soaking his shirt. She pulled off her coat and pushed it onto the wound.

"You owe me a new coat," Celeste said to him before knocking him out with her elbow.

...

In the shadows, a man and a woman watched the chaos from the sidelines. The woman curled her dark blue hair around her finger and frowned.

"They're going down faster than expected." She drawled, her voice lacking of any care for the grunts.

The man beside her replied with the same lack of emotion. "They are nobodies. I didn't think they would amount to much."

The woman chuckled, wrapping her fingers around her partner's arm. "If only Vincent actually tried to train them like us"

"Reina." The man said, looking at her. "You know he would kill you if he heard that."

"Guess it's our little secret, Damon." She beamed. Damon looked back towards the battlefield.

"I think it's time to help a little." He grabbed his weapon, a flamethrower and glanced at the woman beside him. Reina grinned and pulled up her sleeves exposing the same tattoo as the other grunts except with the number 37 etched underneath.

The man snapped his goggles over his eyes and turned on his machine. Then he pulled the trigger, grinning as flames emerged from the nozzle. As everyone's eyes were drawn towards him, Reina sprinted past her partner, her hands swept past the flames and then she flicked them towards the fleeing crowd. Fire flew across the plaza.

...

"That's a thing." Celeste muttered. She hissed under her breath and sprinted towards them, dodging a wave of fire and slashing at the woman. Reina dodged, her fingers brushing the ground and summoning shards of dirt. Celeste rolled to the side to avoid them.

Turning to face the new combatants Riliane spoke quickly to Xanthic "I should be good now, go help the others." With a nod Xanthic deactivated his semblance and ran towards Reina jumping over Celeste claws outstretched towards the woman. Before he could hit her, Damon jumped in front of his partner and kicked Xanthic aside while unleashing a blast of fire at his opponent. Xanthic cried out in pain, his aura taking serious damage. His pain suddenly subsided as Tigre appeared out of seemingly nowhere, his eyes flashing with anger, and jumped over Xanthic to protect him from the rest of the blast.

Riliane pulled back an arrow, aiming at the man and releasing it. It whistled through the air barely missing the intended target as he moved slightly causing it to graze his arm. Damon glanced in her direction and sneered, moving his weapon towards her. Before he could use it however, Celeste slashed his side and he fell backwards with a grunt.

"Grab Xanthic!" Tigre cried out. Before Celeste could move, Reina kicked Celeste's legs out from under her and punched her in the face. Holding her cheek, Celeste rolled away and rushed towards Xanthic to replenish his aura.

"You can't run from me." Reina called out in a sing song voice. She ran her fingers across the ground and summoned a large sword made of earth. She threw her arms down and the sword crashed down, inches from Celeste who had barely dodged it.

Reina muttered under her breath before a scarf wrapped around her wrist and yanked her backwards. Amelia threw her arm out and another side of her scarf grabbed her opponent's legs, lifting her off the ground and throwing her across the dirt. Recovering quickly, Reina brushed off her clothes and sneered at Amelia.

"You're way in over your head kid." Reina taunted, flipping her dark blue hair over her shoulder. "Little girls should watch where they play."

"I"m not little." Amelia replied calmly as she infused her scarf with air dust. Riliane stepped beside her friend, her hand gripped tightly around her bow.

"I've got your back." She said quietly.

"Go for Summer Rain?" Amelia whispered. Riliane nodded. Almost in sync, Amelia dashed forward and Riliane grabbed three arrows, nocking them on her bowstring. Reina only had the time to block Amelia's attack before Riliane released arrows. They whistled through the air before hitting her in the arm and leg. Reina hissed and sent a gust of wind towards them, throwing them off their feet before glancing around the battlefield and then back to her opponents.

"I'll remember you two." Reina snarled before lifting herself up with an air torrent. Riliane pulled out another arrow and aimed it towards her opponent, but Reina easily dodged it and starting retreating . Riliane stepped towards her but Amelia pulled her back.

"Let's go."

* * *

Nearby, Tigre blocked another blast of fire with a grunt of pain, his form staggering. Xanthic stared at his friend, his eyes wide.

"Xanthic sit back." Celeste commanded with a snap. "I need to replenish your aura.

"B-But Tigre is…"

"He's taking the hits so you're safe, we need it right now." Celeste's eyes fluttered close from exhaustion before she opened them again. Now only a few feet away from them, Tigre and Damon had become locked in a fist fight.

"What a pathetic faunus." Damon slurred. Tigre hissed, lunging to kick him before Damon twisted his opponent's arm behind his back. His grip loosened as a sharp pain hit him in the back. He turned to look but found nothing. Then suddenly a kick came from his side. Damon swung his weapon blindly towards where a person should have been and missed Tigre who narrowly dodged out of the way. The third time he noticed the wind change direction and jumped away from it, finally seeing Olive. Instantly his reaction was to blast flames at her. She cartwheeled out of the way. Rotating to keep up with her movement Damon foolishly turned his back on Tigre and was grabbed on the arm. Following tigre's pull he swung his gun making the hot barrel smack harshly against the faunus' face. Tigre stumbled back and fell down. Damon readied a sniper round and aimed down at his heart, "So long-" As he pulled the trigger the rifle was kicked up by Olive who disappeared from his sight instantly. Tigre took the opportunity and grabbed Damon's leg and yanked him towards the ground. Climbing over him, Tigre put all his strength into a single punch. His fist collided with Damon's jaw, forcing his face to snap back from the recoil.

"Don't call me pathetic." Tigre hissed, grabbing Damon's shirt and pulling him up towards him. Damon snarled and slammed his head into Tigre's. After pushing him away, Damon grabbed his weapon off the ground and glanced over seeing his partner leaving the battlefield.

"Retreat!" He yelled, commanding the attention of the few uninjured grunts around him. There were sounds of confusion before several gathered around him and they made their retreat.

"I don't think so," Olive chuckled. Ignoring the pain in his body Tigre attempted to follow Olive's lead against the fleeing assailants, but both of them were stopped via ice around their feet.

"I don't think so," Celeste walked up and began transferring part of Olive's aura to Tigre. "We're hardly in a position to be fighting them now. You idiots would only manage to hurt yourselves more."

...

A few minutes later the group took a collective sigh, the fighting subsiding and the dust settling. Grunts laid injured across the square, with the newly arrived police quickly pinning down and cuffing them. "Good." D'art said, bringing Eve with him and looking back at the damage in the wake. "Maybe we can get some answ-" he was interrupted by shots ringing out across the calm, striking down each incapacitated grunt. Everyone hit the deck, D'art protectively covering Eve.

Tigre, still angry, stood back up and yelled at the snipers "Fight me, you cowards!" The snipers ignored him, leaving none of the captured grunts alive, the blood mixing into their uniforms like dye in water. After a few tense moments of silence it became clear that the extra attackers were gone as quickly as they had appeared, having disposed of the grunts and nothing else.

With the active threats gone the rest of the first responders poured into the rally grounds, alarms of all kinds echoing across the city. A small crowd gathered, taking videos and pictures of the carnage. News crews crept in, the aftermath drawing them like moths to a flame. A police commissioner stepped up, overseeing the first responders and crowd control. "Where was the security?" One reporter shouted out.

The commissioner turned around and looked to the carnage and back. "We had received previous threats for rallies such as this but none of them were taken seriously. We don't know exactly who or what did this, but we will begin investigating immediately." The commissioner waved off others, returning to talk with his officers.

Tigre walked over, staring up to the slightly taller man. "Obviously it was Humanity!" Tigre declared, pointing to the devastation. "Shouldn't you have known about this!?" He was about to explode when his brothers walked up, Simba was carrying an injured Dan in his arms.

Moonracer marched up to the man and grabbed his suit. "Why did you do nothing to prevent this!? It's the police's job to protect people isn't it!?" Letting go he could feel tears crawling down his face, "My brother had to do your job for you and just look at what happened to him!"

The commissioner adjusted his suit, staring back at the Faunus students. "We didn't act because they never acted on their threats. Now if you'll excuse me…" said the man moving to meet with the hospital staff on scene.

His face turning red in anger Tigre let out one final shot out across the devastated area: "Do you only act on threats to humans?" The crowds and staff fell silent, understanding the impact of his words. Murmurs rose back up, between Faunus and humans alike. Knowing his words rang true, Tigre stormed off with his brothers and relieved Simba of Dan's weight.

While the arguments were happening, D'art pulled Eve aside, still trying to bring her back to reality. "Eve, Eve, réveillez-vous…" he said, gently shaking her. Eve came too, still groggy and unsettled. "Eve…are you alright." She let out a slight nod, shaking off some rubble from her hair and shoulders. "Eve…" D'art started, looking back to the group, "You know you can tell me anything right? Partners for life." Eve gave another small nod. "Ok. Then tell me what happened. Did you recognize those grunts? Anything about them?"

Eve looked back to the groups, arguing about what to do next, who to blame, what to say. She looked to the crowd, filled with worried moms and fathers. She stared at her partner, then to her hands, cut by the stones she fell on. "...No." she finally managed to say "Not at all."


	14. Chapter 13

It was early the next morning but everyone was already awake as nobody was able to sleep. Once they all decided to accept that at six in the morning, they finally decided to get dressed and start talking. "Do any of you know what exactly happened back there?" Riliane asked her team.

Olive and Amelia looked at each other. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone like them before," the latter said quietly.

Xanthic was sitting on his bed holding his knees, "Ti-Tigre said something ab-bout Humanity, right?"

"I think so, but why would he blame all of humanity for what happened, I mean we were trying to help and I think we're all human." Riliane posed that last part as more of a question.

"Don't forget Owen," Olive chirped and pointed at where her tail would be if she was him.

Ignoring her for the most part Xanthic spoke meekly again, "I-it's not that he was blaming hu-humans… Humanity is the common term f-for an organization known as The Guardians of Humanity's Crystal. They… they're basically the polar opposite of the White Fang, a group th-that believes in faunus subjugation and they're more than wi-willing to use force for what they want…"

"Oh," Riliane felt a bit bad about her ignorant statement. "Say, how do you know so much about them, Xan?"

"Um, we-well…" He looked away from all of them, "A-after the second time I wa-was accused of being a member I deci-cided to look into it…"

The room was silent for a good two minutes until Olive spoke up, "Maybe you shouldn't act so suspicious in front of the White Fang then."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"That weird thing you did with your coat," She explained while taking off her own imaginary coat and folding it over her arm.

"Tha-that's!" Xanthic stopped himself, "I just didn't want any of them to recognise me…"

"See, suspicious."

"I guess…" He didn't want to argue the topic any more and just sighed. Hoping to change the subject he offered, "May-maybe we should go se-see how Dan's doing…"

"Yeah, he was in really bad shape yesterday…" Riliane got up and held the door open for all of her teammates. They headed down to the school's infirmary, which was surprisingly well equipped for physical injuries. Entering the room, that was about the same size as their dorms, team ROXA found all three of the Lion brothers sitting around the bed that held an unconscious Dan.

"H-how is he?" Amelia asked notifying the boys of their presence.

"She says he'll be alright," Moonracer pointed at the nurse who was busy doing something. "Apparently the bomb was able to instantly overpower his aura and because they had to do surgery he wasn't able to heal like normal."

Simba stood up, "We appreciate you guys coming, but…" His yellow eyes locked on Xanthic, "I have to ask you to leave."

"What? Why?" Riliane reminded herself to keep her voice down.

"It's nothing personal, I swear, but we all know that the only person Dan would want to see less when he wakes up is a Schnee."

"You do realise it was-" Xanthic patted his partner's shoulder and put on a smile he knew she couldn't see.

He nodded at Simba, "It's alright, I understand. If you'll excuse me," Xanthic kept his composure just long enough to leave the room.

Riliane finished her argument, though she mumbled it now, "He was the one who suggested we come down anyway…"

"That's a bit surprising since Dan has never even been remotely nice to him," Moonracer thought outloud.

Simba couldn't resist himself and chuckled, "Maybe he had a different reason for coming down then."

Moonracer shook his head with a giant grin on his face, "I doubt it, more likely he's either keeping up appearances or is just a nice person." The girls of ROXA weren't entirely sure how to react to that as they themselves weren't entirely sure which one was true. Changing the discussion back to Dan and the rally the six of them talked for quite a while as Tigre explained to them how he got so injured.

"Um s-sorry, but well…" Xanthic re-entered the infirmary and was closely followed by Ozpin.

"Pardon the intrusion, but the police have called and wish to speak with all of you," Their headmaster informed them.

"We're not leaving," Tigre decided.

"If it's because of your brother than I assure you that he will be just fine for an hour."

"I won't leave him alone."

"Would it be acceptable if I watched him in your place then?"

Ozpin's amber eyes didn't falter in the slightest at Tigre's burning gold. "Fine," He decided bitterly. Looking down at his brother one last time he sighed, "Better be quick."

* * *

ROXA and the healthy members of SDTM met up with team CODE on their way down to the station. Once there they separated them into groups being sent to different rooms to make the process go quicker. Riliane was called into one of the interrogation rooms first as she was one of the team leaders. The officer apparently in charge lead her down the hall from the station doors and into a fairly small room that was bare of any decoration, not that she would've noticed either way. Opposite of the bare stone wall was a one-way mirror. Above the metal table, which held a voice recorder, and pair of chairs was a single hanging light. The policeman guided Riliane across the room and pulled out the chair for her. "Well you're definitely a first…" He muttered under his breath. Sitting down across from her, the officer pulled out a scroll and looked back over to Riliane, "Name?"

"Riliane Avadona."

After typing in the name he scanned over the information, idly repeating it out loud as he did, "Only child of the Avadona family, owners of the Dispater mining company, no relation to faunus labor." Looking back up at her he continued "So what did you uh… ...see?"

"It's alright," Riliane responded with a laugh. "I can't exactly describe what they looked like for you, but there were several gunmen and two well trained attackers."

The officer nodded, "Yeah, that about fits the basic report we have… It seems you and your team reacted pretty quickly to the whole thing."

"We did what we could, I wish we could have done more though."

"You and your friends did fine kid, It could have been a whole lot worse without you." As he finished Riline heard the man stand up and open the door causing her to turn and try to face his direction, "Thank you for your time, but I think it'd be better to just go ahead and talk to your teammates about the event… no offense of course."

Standing up and moving to the door Riliane spoke with a hint of disappointment in her voice as she let him guide her back down the hall, "Yes that seems like a good idea, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

...

Back in the lobby Celeste was sitting in a nearby chair, when an older man and a younger woman in uniform came up to her. "We're going to try and speed this up a bit, so if you could follow us miss," The lady said to her.

"Can I get your name miss?" The man asked once they were inside one of the dimly lit interrogation rooms.

"Celeste Shade." Celeste replied while taking a seat, she tilted it back and balanced herself with her feet up on the metal table. The officer typed her name into his scroll and she saw her picture appear and some of her information.

"Ms. Shade. Huntress in training, and…." he looked up from his scroll, "Member of the Kōmori family. Now what is a Kōmori doing fighting a group of thugs?"

"That is a question I would like answered as well. As far as my family is concerned, what I choose to do with my life is up to me."

"Interesting that you would've been there with your family being who they are though." The police woman mused.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Celeste asked, quickly standing up.

"Just stating that having a faunus family on that social level, and with you being human, it could raise some questions."

"My family has nothing to do with what went on, so drop it!"

"Alright, calm down kid. We just have a few questions, if you don't mind?" The male officer asked.

"That's why I'm here. Isn't it?" Celeste asked sarcastically, sitting back down.

"Fair enough. Do you know who the group was?"

"Nope."

"Do you know why they attacked?"

"Nope."

"Do you know where they went?"

"Listen all I know is that they attacked innocent people and we

stopped them." Celeste said.

"Okay…" the officer looked to his partner who just shrugged. "I think we are done here. Just keep yourself out of trouble kid."

"Yeah well trouble found me, adult." Celeste said as the officers were

walking away. She sighed and returned back to the front of the building where she saw Riliane was back, but Owen and Eve were now gone.

* * *

Owen's eyes scanned the room, He tried to see if anything was out of the ordinary, a wire or camera perhaps. Other than the one way mirror, nothing was out of place, for now. The door opened to an officer who sat down and asked for his name, looking up in surprise when he received it "So you're Owen, your reputation precedes you. You helped save a lot of lives."

Owen was shocked, but tried to keep cool. "Thank you, sir." He said, his eye still pacing around the room. Realizing it, Owen calmed himself and focused on answering the officer's questions.

"So Owen… 16 years old, tragic history for someone so young. I assume it was you that brought your friends to the rally?"

"We just ended up there by accident," Owen responded unscathed by what the man was ensuing. "Not all faunus want to go out and protest." Staring at the man for a second, Owen started to read his mind. "No. I don't know who would do this. No, I don't think anyone on my team would know. And no I have nothing else to report."

Confused, the man stared at Owen and then back down to his scroll before a look of understanding and annoyance crossed his face. "And yes," Owen said, reading the officer's thoughts one more time, "I want to leave just as much as you want me to."

"Better watch your attitude kid, even if you were a hero acting like that will get you in trouble." With nothing left to say, the officer stood up and held the door open, gesturing for Owen to leave.

...

Elsewhere, Eve leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and waited patiently. She had already spoken to one officer who had taken her name and left the room shortly after staring at his scroll in confusion. Which was a shame as she had already thought out her responses, and had hoped it would go quick. Some time later the officer returned with another person who he introduced as working for the records department.

"Hello." The man greeted, holding out his hand. Eve shook it and then leaned back once more.

After this the two sat down across from her and the officer began to speak "We're going to start with a few simple questions, What did you see happen?" The man asked.

"Not much." Eve admitted. "I was so shocked that I passed out. And when I came to I saw my partner sitting next to me."

"Can you explain what little you saw of the event then?"

"There was a lot of smoke, gunshots." Eve said slowly. "Everyone was running and screaming, there were grunts pushing people around." The man nodded and continued.

"Do you know who the group is?"

"Not really." Eve said calmly, without hesitation. "I know that they've made threats before. But I don't know much about them."

It was then that the other officer spoke up "If you don't mind I have a question for you myself, although this doesn't have to do with the event per say." She said. Eve looked at her, silent. "When we searched for your records, we could barely find anything. It's like you were a ghost. Can you tell us why that is?"

"I was given up when I was born." Eve said calmly. "They put me in an orphanage and there was an error transferring the documents. I'm surprised they still haven't fixed it."

"That is strange though," The officer replied. "They usually solve those things in a short period of time." Eve nodded as she spoke. "Well anyways there are much more pressing matters and hand, but if you wouldn't mind…" The woman stopped and pulled out a card that she handed to Eve. "Whenever you have the time we really need to get those records fixed so everything is right and proper."

Nodding again Eve took the card and put it in her pocket "Is that all?" She asked. The policeman was silent, and then he stood up and pushed his chair in, the other doing the same.

"Yes, thank you for your time Miss Glamis." Eve stood up as well and shook the woman's hand again as they walked out. After being escorted out of the room, she softly released the breath she had been holding.

* * *

D'art sat in the room, the light swinging from the ceiling. "C'mon..." he muttered to himself. It had been quite a while since the officers had sent him back and told him to wait. Thankfully it was just then that an officer entered the room and sat down pulling out a scroll and asking for his name, which D'art quickly provided.

"Ok... Mr. Montaigne. Do you mind describing what you-" The man stopped as D'art was looking nervously back and forth from the door to the man's face. "Look kid, the better you answer my questions, the quicker you leave. Deal?" Eager, D'art nodded and gave his full attention to the officer. "Good, now Where were you in the chaos?"

D'art answered quickly "Helping my partner. She had some kind of episode, I got her to safety. I didn't see much."

"Ok. Did you recognize any of the attackers?" D'art shook his head in response along with a short "No", sad he couldn't help in identifying any of them. "I see… now Mr. Montaigne, I understand there are radical groups within the ridge, yes? Any recent attacks or incidents we should know about?"

D'arts face of worry turned to anger. "No. Sir." D'art gritted through his teeth.

"I mean nothing by it, kid. I understand that your people can be ones to hold a grudge is all and for the public's sake we need to check everything." Looking at his scroll and away from Dart's glare he continued with a cough "Ok then. Is there anything else you'd like to put on the record?" D'art shook his head again, still miffed about the man's rude comment. Without another word the man stood up and opened the door letting D'art rush out to return to his friends. As he made it to the lobby he could see Owen being led off to one of the many rooms.

...

After being called Amelia walked down the hall, exchanging a faint smile with one of the officers before she entered the room.

"Hello, take a seat." The officer said "Just a few quick questions and we'll be done" Amelia nodded. The officer asked for her name and typed it into his scroll before continuing.

"What did you see happen at the rally?"

"Everything was fine at first." Amelia replied. "And then all of a sudden there were gunshots, and a bunch of grunts in white appeared. Everyone was freaking out, so my teammates and I tried to help the injured." The man nodded. "After a while two particularly strong grunts came out and we did our best to fend them off. After they retreated, the few hostages we had were killed.." Amelia said softly.

"Yes, and that was a shame." The man said sadly. "Can you tell us more about the two stronger combatants you fought?"

"One was a man, he was burly looking; used a flamethrower. And there was a woman who used elemental magic."

"That should be all. Thank you for coming in." Officer said as he stood up. Amelia nodded, gratefully exiting the cold room with a shiver.

* * *

After being escorted back around 20 minutes prior Xanthic's leg was jumping in anticipation as he waited for his questioning to begin. The single door to the room was opened and closed by a young man who asked for Xanthic's name and then took a deep breath, "Sorry 'bout the wait, I had some unexpected issues with paperwork."

"Oh, it's alright sir. It wasn't that long, So what is it you need from me?"

"For starters I'd just like to hear your perspective on what exactly happened."

"Of course, um… It was probably around four o'clock when my friends and I came by the CCT. Some of our classmates there were participating in the rally invited us over to talk to them, then it must have been the first grenade that was thrown. Everyone was running… I don't exactly remember who was going where, but I had to stay with my partner so that she'd be able to fight despite the noise. When those other two came out and it had calmed down a bit then I tried to fight them head on, but I was taken down quickly and I really only remember hearing Tigre and Moonracer yelling about something after that." Xanthic was able to recite the events very steadily.

The officer raised his eyebrow, "You seem to be awfully calm after what happened…"

"No I just… I've been thinking about it a lot…"

"I see," He wrote something down. "Mr. Picto do you know who was behind the attack?"

"The Guardians of Humanity's Crystal." Seeing the judging look in the policeman's eyes Xanthic explained how he knew that. "I- Because of my family's history I've heard a good amount about an anti-faunus organization and after yesterday I did some research on them. I found that there were official threats made about what happened."

"Right, well are you aware of any connection your family may have to them?"

"Sir, my parents have spent the last decade trying to repair our relationship with the faunus. Neither of them would ever work with terrorists."

"Very well then, unless there's something else you'd like to add, I believe we're done here."

"There's nothing I can think of at the moment." They both stood up and the officer opened the door for Xanthic, "If you need anything else, I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you, but it'll be best if you kids leave this to the professionals." Xanthic ignored Nivens' crude remarks about the not-so-professionals. "Oh, if you wouldn't mind on your way out directing Ms. Braz this way, please."

"Of course, sir," He bowed his head slightly and left the room. The rest of his team was sitting on the bench near the front of the station, well Olive was more bouncing than sitting. "H-he want's to see you ne-next," Xanthic told her.

"Hm? Alrighty," Her usual cheer was still there, but something about it was off. She followed Xanthic's directions down to the interrogation room and entered while knocking on the open door. "Hey there."

"Please take a seat, Miss Braz."

"Just Olive, please," She pulled the metal chair out and sat on it cross-legged.

"Alright then, Olive, you know your family has quite a record with us."

"Of course, Jared."

"Y-you know my name?"

She nodded with a smile, "My uncle complains about you a lot."

"Oh, right, him…" he sighed audibly. "Mind if we get to the point and you tell me what happened?"

"Sure, but did Xan not tell you?"

"It's important that we hear from everyone so that we can get the whole picture."

"Oh, that makes sense." She hummed for a moment before gaining a serious expression, "There's not much to tell honestly; innocent people were being attacked, so we stepped in to try and stop them."

"So is it safe to assume you were the the first of the students to begin fighting?"

"I think so, though Cel called it."

"Cel?"

"Celeste Shade," She explained.

"Right, the uh… Kōmori girl..." He said taking note. "Then do you have a reason that the attackers were so severely injured before their deaths?"

"The weak ones didn't have an aura," Olive told him as if it was obvious. "My friends did their best to not hurt them too badly."

"And as for yourself?"

Olive shrugged, "They didn't care if they killed anyone."

"Does nobody in your family understand basic human decency?"

Despite being a rhetorical question Olive answered, "Of course we understand decency. Why does everyone seem to think that bad people deserve good things?"

The officer sighed heavily again, "And here I was hoping you wouldn't be just as stubborn as the rest of them…"

Olive chuckled, "Aren't you and your old man, the commissioner, just as stubborn too?"

"It's our job to be skeptical of people."

"And it's my family's to hunt down bad guys."

With a final sigh he stood up, "I'm done, but can you just promise me one thing?" Olive cocked her head. "Can you at least try not to be as difficult as your relatives?"

"Hmm… Nope~" She chuckled and teleported back to her friends, leaving the young man alone in the room feeling completely defeated and wanting to just go home.

* * *

The last one to be questioned was Tigre looked around the room he was in, despite being called in for a witness testimony it felt more like he was going to be interrogated. His attention was brought forward as a young man entered the room and sat across from him asking his name for the record before starting, "So Mr. Darude-Lion, you and your…" he looked over the file again and let out a short whistle, "wow, three brothers, that must be rough."

"No," He responded plainly.

"Ri-right, well the four of you were all at the rally?"

"Yes."

"Then you're all members of the White Fang?" Tigre nodded. "I'm going to need you to vocalize your answers please."

He almost growled, "Yes, we are. Have been for about 10 years."

"I see… Now do you think you could tell me what happened and why you and… Moonracer, was it, got so upset with our commissioner?"

"If you had been there, then Dan wouldn't have gotten hurt." Tigre glared at him.

The officer ignored the accusation, "Would you mind sharing what happened to him?"

"He realised what was happening and protected everyone from the second bomb." Tigre stood up with his hands on the table and leaned over the man who was still sitting, "I want to go back and see him now, are we done?"

"Just about," The officer was used to basic intimidation tactics. "Can you tell me anything about the two that you let get away?"

"I wasn't allowed to follow them," Tigre corrected him, "And I didn't see any officers running to catch them either."

"Our troops were preoccupied with other tasks during that time, such as making sure everyone was alright-"

"Simba, Moonracer, and Owen already did that."

"Back to the question I asked you, do you know anything about those two?"

"Obviously they were Humanity," Tigre said pointing at his arm where he remembered their tattoos being. "They fought properly like huntsmen though."

"You think they were graduates from one of the academies?"

"No, but they were trained by someone."

"Alright, that's all I have for today, you may go." Tigre nearly slammed the door behind him. He ran back to Beacon to meet up with his brothers who had already been questioned and were now watching over Dan, who after waking up assured his brothers he was fine immediately passed out again.

* * *

Later that night Team CODE was still discussing the event in their dorm "What do you think Eve?" D'art's question broke the raven haired girl out of her trance and she looked up.

"About what?"

"The attack." D'art clarified.

"Oh." Eve was silent. "I don't know." D'art nodded slowly and the group opened the door to their dorm and filed in.

"It's terrible really." Owen said softly. "I've never seen such an act against my race before." His wolf tail swayed back and forth slowly. Eve patted his shoulder softly. Continuing to talk, the group of teens sat on their beds.

"At least we got to miss school." D'art offered cheerfully.

"And the work to catch up will be loads of fun." Eve replied sarcastically.

"We were given extra credit for helping people at the rally though." Celeste added, throwing off her jacket and leaning back in her bed. "So I'm not gonna bother doing it."

"I'm exhausted." D'art said with a yawn. "I'm gonna sleep." Eve stared at him, irritated.

"Aren't you all worried? At least a little bit? What if they do this again?" She demanded. Celeste eyed her.

"There's nothing we can do about that. The police will handle it."

"But they can't!" Eve snapped. She took a quick breath and her tone calmed considerably. "If they could barely stop this, how can they prevent it from happening again? They have no leads."

"True, but it's not like we can do anything." D'art yawned. Eve was silent as she looked away.

Eve you okay? Eve jumped, still not used to the shock she received when Owen communicated with her.

I'm fine.

You seem tense.

And they aren't tense enough. Eve thought, irritated as she glanced at the other two teammates. Owen was silent as he observed her thoughts. There was fear, guilt, and memories that were coming to surface after years of being pushed down. There was anger, and a bit of something else he couldn't quite pinpoint.

Don't look into my head. Eve thought, her eyes moving to meet his.

Eve you can talk to me. Owen thought back.

I have nothing to talk to you about. Their conversation was interrupted as D'art muttered something in his sleep, falling off the bed with a grunt. They ignored him and continued.

That's a lie and you know it. Owen stared back. Eve didn't reply, she merely looked away. You're always so quiet. Owen continued. We all wish you would open up to us more.

There are things even you don't want to know. Eve thought bitterly.

Don't assume things. Eve shook her head and stood up abruptly. Without sparing him a glance, she stormed out of the room. Owen calmly got up and followed her out.

I've been sensing something for a while. Owen continued. You and your past. I didn't say anything to the others, and I kept quiet about it. But enough is enough and I deserve to know, we all do.

Keep out of my business. Eve thought back bitterly as she continued to walk down the hallway. Owen hurried after her.

You can't keep silent forever. Eve spun around and grabbed Owen by the collar, lifting him up.

"Stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong." She snarled. Owen blinked, surprised. Eve was silent and then she released him and took a step back. "Sorry." She muttered. Owen rubbed his throat.

"No, I am." He scratched his head. "I know I'm nosy. I just want to help. There's something…" He paused. "Relatable about you." Eve's eyes flicked to his tail and then she scoffed.

"I'll say." She replied. Owen gave her a confused glance and then he froze as he accidentally read her mind.

"You're-"

"Don't look through my head." Eve snapped.

"But you're-" He died off and stared at her as if she was a new person. "I had no idea. What happened?" Eve was silent as she leaned against the wall.

"Something I don't want to talk about."

"What else is new." Owen muttered sarcastically.

"You don't get to say anything." Eve slurred. "You just read my mind repeatedly when I told you not to."

Owen was silent. "True. Are you going to tell the others?" He asked finally.

"I think so." Eve admitted. "They deserve to know." Owen nodded and the two began to walk back to the dorms.

"There was one more thing actually." Owen added. Eve glanced at him. "There's always been something dark in your mind. I've never sensed anything like it from anyone else before. And after the attack happened, it just...kind of exploded. I can only see dark thoughts in your mind now." Owen turned to face her. Eve was silent.

"You're relationship with that...organization is really strange." He continued. "I see love and loyalty and also pure hatred and...loathing."

"Just how far did you look into my head?" Eve snapped.

"I spent an entire evening trying to get through it." Owen replied sheepishly.

"OWEN!" Eve yelled.

"I'm sorry!" He held his hands up. "I only ever wanted to get a general idea though! I never pried too far." Eve sighed.

"Listen, there's something I need to talk about with all of you." She said quietly. "But with everything going on, I don't want to do it right now." She continued to walk down the hallway and Owen trailed behind her. "But I promise that I will tell you all about it soon." She glanced at her friend who grinned.

"Thanks Eve."

"Yeah, yeah. But no more looking through my head."

"If you say so."


	15. Chapter 14

With a soft sigh Xanthic lounged in the hallway, his back sliding down the wall. He had once again been shunned out of the infirmary. He was able to hear the conversation on the other side of the door, apparently Dan was well enough to attend classes again in a few days. They were just keeping him for formalities at this point, making sure his wounds wouldn't reopen. It also sounded like Dan and Moonracer were complaining about the fact that the police hadn't gotten anywhere in their investigations. "At least he's doing better now…" Xanthic mumbled.

" _Remind me again why you even care,"_ Nivens responded.

"A-am I not sup-posed to?"

" _Sure, why not. It's just you're not friends, he doesn't even like you, so why waste your breath on him?"_

"We-well he's like Prongs, right? The only re-reason he hates me is my name."

" _Your point being? That just makes him worse, doesn't it?"_

"I-I don't know…" He hugged his legs and rested his forehead on his knees, "I just wi-wish that faunus wouldn't hate me s-so much…"

" _Well I'm pretty sure Owen doesn't have anything against you and one of the lions likes you just fine."_

"Huh? Do you mean Moonracer?"

" _Sure, let's go with that. Though it's true, you wouldn't choose to study with people you don't like."_

" _Ye-yeah, I guess…"_

" _But you know if it really bothers you that much you could always stop lying to everyone."_

"Y-you know I can't!" Xanthic exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

" _I know you_ _ **choose**_ _not to."_

"It's t-too late though…"

"Who're you talking to Xan?" Olive asked from the now open door.

Xanthic jumped, "N-nobody! Ju-just thinking outl-loud."

" _Aw… How rude,"_ Nivens feigned offense.

"I didn't-" Xanthic's voice was barely audible.

" _Yeah yeah, just get on with however you're gonna waste your day."_

Xanthic sighed and stood up. The four of them returned to their dorm and spread themselves out amongst the desks and beds. "I'm glad Dan got better so quickly…" Amelia said hoping to break the silence.

"Me too, but," Riliane turned roughly in Xanthic's direction, "Doesn't it bother you that they won't let you in?"

"Huh? N-no…" Her partner responded meekly, "Well, kinda I su-suppose… But it's the-their choice, so I do-don't wanna be a bo-bother."

"Nonsense," Olive decided. "You two would get along great if you gave each other a chance."

"You get along fine with the other three, so doesn't it just make sense for you and Dan to at least try and be friends?" Riliane agreed.

"Ma-maybe you should tr-try and convince him first…" Xanthic said with another sigh.

"To be honest, I kind of doubt he'd even consider it," Amelia pointed out quietly.

"Hmm… We just need to find some way to get him to give you a chance," Riliane thought out loud. "Oh! You've had to make deals with people you don't exactly like before right? How'd you do those?"

"Y-you mean for work?" She nodded, mostly facing her partner. "Um… Well he ne-never lets me talk long enough to…" He trailed off a bit, "Ma-maybe a gift then? That se-seems to work for my mom…"

"Oo~ That's perfect~" Olive cheered, "Everybody loves getting new things."

" _You know, with how he is he'd probably find a way to turn any gift into an insult,"_ Nivens seemed extremely bored with the current conversation.

"I'm not ent-tirely sure that's a gr-great idea…" And the next thing Xanthic knew he was being dragged through Vale.

* * *

"What do you think he'd like anyway?" Riliane asked as they were well into Vale only now realising how little she knew about Dan.

"Oh, maybe a new knife?" Olive suggested pointing at a weapon shop.

"I don't think a weapon is a very good idea when he's only just getting out of the hospital," Amelia pointed out and Xanthic agreed with her.

"But these are Komori Blades," She argued.

"Komori?" Xanthic asked, he recognised the name somehow, but couldn't place it.

"They're one of the most popular blacksmiths in Vale," Riliane explained only knowing because the Komoris were one of her family's best clients, though she had never met any of them in person. "The weapons they make are supposed to be on par with those made for huntsmen. And if I remember correctly my father said they were faunus too," She added guessing what argument Xanthic would make against it.

"M-maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea then…"

"C'mon then!" Olive pulled them inside and began gawking at all the various blades. She poofed from the case of daggers to the display of swords to the stands of polearms. There were also ranged weapons from short bows to semi automatic rifles. The family's emblem could be found on every piece.

It only took a moment for the shopkeep to greet them, "Beacon students?" He asked with a pleasant smile.

"Th-that's right sir," Xanthic attempted to return the gesture but felt uncomfortable being surrounded by so many weapons.

"Hold on a minute…" The man leaned in and observed them all carefully before lighting up with sudden realisation, "Were you four at the rally?"

"Yep," Olive said proudly.

"Well then, I'd like to thank you for stepping in."

"It's no problem sir," Riliane replied, "It's what huntresses and huntsmen are supposed to do."

"Guess you're right about that, though I know better than most that not all huntsmen hold that same honour." There was a crash from deeper in the store and the man turned, "What're you kids doing back there!?"

A little boy with deep purple hair and bright red eyes matching those of the shop keep, his appearance differing only with the large pair of bat ears upon his head, peered out from behind one of the many displays. "S-sorry dad, sis got mad and punched her partner."

"That girl, I swear…" The man sighed, "Please excuse me for a moment." With everyone unsure of what was happening they just nodded and watched the two go deeper into the shop. They could all still hear his stern voice perfectly though. "Celeste what have I told you about making a ruckus in the store?"

"Sorry," Her tone made it clear she wasn't.

"Just try and keep it down back he-" His voice suddenly got quieter and only Riliane and Xanthic could hear him. "Wait, weren't those other folks at the rally your friends? What was it, team ROXA?"

"Yeah, why're you bringing that up now?" Celeste didn't lower her voice to match his.

"They're here right now."

"What!? Why?"

"Well this _is_ a store so I would assume they came here to buy something."

"I- I know that obviously, but it's not like any of them need weapons."

They assumed that the man shrugged, "Perhaps you should ask them yourself then."

"Maybe I will," Celeste seemed to be pouting. Her, the shopkeep, and Owen all came into view. "So what're you guys doing here anyway?" She demanded.

"Why do you insist on always acting like such a ruffian?" The shopkeep commented with a sigh.

"We're gonna get Xan onto Dan's good side," Olive proclaimed ignoring the family spat.

"You're looking for a gift then?" The man went back to business.

"Yes, well, Olive thinks it'd be a good idea to get him a new throwing knife, do you have any Mr. Shade?" Xanthic spoke up, getting used to the atmosphere.

"Mr. Shade?" The man questioned the name then chuckled, "No no, it's Mr. _Komori_ actually. Celeste is my niece, we took her in some while back."

"O-oh, I'm so sorry about assu-suming," Xanthic bowed his head in apology. "It's an honor to meet you Mr. Komori, my teammates speak very highly about your company." They shook hands.

"So well mannered, you must be Xanthic, right?" Seeing the confused and slightly worried look on the boy's face he explained, "Celeste has told us all about her friends. Xanthic is the fancy one, Riliane wears her hair in twintails, Olive is the most energetic, and finally the quiet one with silver hair is Amelia."

"Geez, you make it sound like I have nothing better to talk about than my classmates," Celeste complained.

"Well with one of them in particular, it really does seem like you-"

"Don't you have a job to be doing?" She quickly cut in.

Mr. Komori chuckled before turning back to the group, "Throwing knives you said? They're over this way." He lead Xanthic and Olive to the side by a narrow velvet coated shelf, leaving the other four students to talk amongst themselves. Each of the six levels had about ten different styles.

"Oh! These are the ones he has," Olive pointed at a simple blade on the bottommost shelf.

Both men kneeled down to examine it. Mr. Komori hummed as he tried to recall something, "This Dan, does he by chance have fangs? Red hair?"

"Yeah! You know him?"

"I remember we had to break up a full set because he couldn't afford it."

"That's why he only has three?" Xanthic asked cautiously.

"Mhm, it hurt me to break up a set, but I couldn't just pitch in two free knives. It's business, you understand?"

Xanthic nodded, "I'd like to get him those then. Uh… you d-do still have the two spares ri-right?"

"If I was going to throw them away then I would've just given them to him." Mr. Komori got up and went in back to fetch the blades.

While they were waiting for him to return his son walked up and tugged on Xanthic's sleeve making him jump slightly. "Oh, h-hi there…"

The boy looked up at him with his big red eyes and tilted his head in a questioning manner, "Isn't it rude to wear hats indoors?"

"Huh? We-well I suppose most people wou-would say that, though this is… it's very important to me. You see it was a-a gift from my mom to show sh-she accepted of me beco-coming a huntsman, so I try t-to never take it off if I can avoid it."

"Oh," The boy nodded and smiled, "You talk kinda funny."

Nivens couldn't help himself, he crouched back down to be on eye level with the boy and smiled. "Th-that's not something I can really contr-trol though," he was able to perfectly match Xanthic's speech pattern. He'd never admit it to anyone, but Nivens loved children.

"How'd you do that?" The boy asked in awe and pointed at his eyes.

"What're you ta-talking about?"

"They changed color, I saw it!"

"Maybe it's _your_ eyes that are playing tricks on you," He gave up the stuttering act. "Now are you ever going to introduce yourself to me, or am I just gonna have to refer to you as "bat boy?"

"Oh! I'm Voi- er…" He seemed to be struggling to remember the correct pronunciation, "Violet!" Violet looked proud of himself for remembering it. "And you're um… Z-Zane-hick?"

"Almost," Violet was crestfallen. "It's Zan-thik," Nivens tried to annunciate the parts that he had gotten wrong.

"Xa-Xanthic?" He looked anxiously to see if he was correct and cheered when Nivens nodded with a smile. Violet then repeated the name to himself to prevent himself from forgetting it.

"Found 'em," Mr. Komori returned with a small wooden box. Nivens ruffled Violet's hair, careful to avoid touching his ears, and walked up to the counter to pay for the knives.

He had to restrain himself from making a comment about how much lower the price was than he had been expecting, "Thank you sir." Nivens smiled and waved a final goodbye to Violet as Riliane and Amelia finished their conversation with Celeste and Owen and the team left. They all had homework, but being that none of them had any desire to do it any time soon they took the long way back.

* * *

Olive had been leading the way when she suddenly stopped. She looked down and the rest of the team heard her stomach growl, then she looked from side to side. Twirling on her left foot she chuckled half heartedly, "Mind if we stop here?" She pointed at the next building. All four of them could smell the garlic, cheese, tomato, and bread.

"Is that a pizza place?" Amelia asked.

"Pizza?" Riliane asked.

Seeing her confusion Olive gasped, "Have you never had pizza before?"

"I haven't either," Nivens pointed out. "I'm assuming her parents think the same way as mine, why would you buy cheap food when you can afford gormét."

"Y-yeah… That sounds about right," Riliane replied reluctantly.

"Then it's not an option anymore, let's go~" Olive grabbed both of their hands and almost ran into the shop but came to a sudden halt just outside the door as Nivens dug his heels into the sidewalk.

"I think not." He said sternly

"Is something the matter?" Amelia asked.

Nivens pointed at a sign in the curtained window, "If anybody in there recognises me the media would have a field day with it."

"Somebody mind telling me what it is?" Riliane asked trying not to sound rude.

"They refuse to serve faunus here," Amelia replied somberly. "Let's find somewhere else…"

Olive pouted, "I'm hungry though…"

"We can find somewhere else, I doubt this place is even all that good if the owner is such a-"

"Jive Turkey?" An unfamiliar voice appeared behind them, cutting off Nivens. "You're right, but he ain't no bunk chef."

"That's definitely not the word I would have chosen…" They all turned to face the man that had approached them. He was significantly taller than all four of them as well as dressing in a vibrant red jacket made him and his afro stand out. "I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?"

He laughed and looked extremely proud of himself, "Oh, you've been to one of my shows then? It's always zomba to meet fans like this, 'specially when when one of 'em's such a bunny."

His comment was directed at Amelia, but Nivens was the one that reacted, "Excuse me!?" He was more startled than angry.

"Oh snaps dude, she yours?"

"Wha- N-no." Nivens looked up at Amelia and shook his head at the thought, "No offense, but I'd rather die alone."

"It's a little hard not to take offense to that," Riliane cautiously told him.

"Well if she ain't yours then why don't ya just float?"

"You still haven't introduced yourself," Olive pointed out.

The man was personally offended, "I need an introduction?" They all nodded. They swear he would've done a hair flip if he could, instead he adjusted his oversized sunglasses in as dramatic a way as possible. "I'm the one and only musician to top the charts for ten years straight. Only the grooviest man to walk on Remnant, I've got good vibes like no other. The name's Mic Jay."

The girls were stunned by his long introduction and Nivens was bent over laughing. Riliane spoke up while her partner was in mild hysterics, "I thought Dust 'n Roses was number 1 right now?"

Mic Jay groaned, "Those faunus youngbloods are total lalas. They ain't got no groove. The fact they even got so far is real inky to me."

"Oh… I think they sound really good…"

"Don't worry about him," Nivens was still recovering from his laughing fit, "He's nothing more than an old man who doesn't realise he's washed up."

"Mind repeating that honkey?" Mic Jay leaned over him somewhat.

"Not really, though I think just that line proves my point. You sound like an idiot."

"You little-"

"Honestly I've listened to some of what you call music and man, I have no idea why you were popular to begin with. At least no matter what, my family still is good at what we do."

"Your family..?" He leaned back and lifted his sunglasses to look closer at him. Mic Jay then took out his scroll and looked back and forth from it to him, he seemed to send a message to somebody and then put it away. "Well well," he put his shades back down, "I was expecting a narcy fruit not some bunk pimp."

"Do you even know real words?"

Mic Jay didn't answer the sarcastic question, rather he began whistling. Without a single word he turned around and walking to the beat went down the alley connected to the pizza place. The members of team ROXA couldn't figure out why they were following him. Their bodies were acting without their permission. Hoping his guess was correct Nivens faded away when they were near the back of the building. Xanthic activated his semblance and silenced the musician, as he thought, they were in control of themselves again. Instantly panicking from the loss of his voice, Mic Jay spun with his arm out and gravity dust held them all in place. His mouth moved indicating he was trying to give a one-liner. He then heaved a heavy and silent sigh. Olive teleported into the air behind him and kicked his shoulder down making him stumble. Riliane called her weapon in and as Xanthic tried to do the same his scroll was blasted away by a gust of wind. Looking in the direction it came from he saw a burly man in partial armor wielding a dust infused greatsword next to the doorway into the pizza shop, he was familiar somehow. "Why didn't you split them up, idiot." The slightly taller man complained in a gruff voice. The man from the ridge!? Mic Jay tried to answer but couldn't. "Did you not read the briefing…" Basil jumped off the small stone patio swinging his sword down. When the metal crashed into the ground flames erupted dividing the students into groups of two. The swordsman charged at Amelia and Riliane who both managed to get out of the way in time. Amelia's scarf wrapped around his leg and Riliane quickly fired an arrow at him, his metal armor made it significantly easier to aim. Their confidence ended quickly, though, as Basil swiftly turned so that the arrow hit the armor covering his shoulderblades and he pulled his leg back to bring Amelia forward then jabbed his pommel into her chest. She stumbled back as fast as she could and looked at Riliane, who ordered, "Summer Rain!" Both girls put their full power into range attacks.

On the other side of the fire wall, Xanthic and Olive were struggling to match Mic Jay's fighting style. He moved extraordinarily fast for a taller man and all of his attacks were to a rhythm that only he know. "We need to use 7-Up!" Olive said with frustration after another failed slash.

"I need Vena for that," Xanthic argued back barely dodging another of Mic Jay's ferocious kicks.

"Can't you do anything without your weapon?"

"I-" An idea struck him, "Sorry Dan…" He jumped back far enough that he would have time to take out one of the knives he had just purchased. The blade was straighter and shorter than he was used to, but it'd have to do. Xanthic ran back into combat and made sure to stay low. "This is a bad idea," He mumbled to himself. He took a direct blow to his abdomen, but used the opportunity to grab Mic Jay's leg and slice him with the knife. Mic Jay shifted his weight to the captured foot and pulled Xanthic down, then would've kicked him again, but Olive was able to get a hit on his shoulder. If he'd been able to he would've cursed her for that. Adjusting his position quickly to regain his rhythm, Mic Jay stood on his hands and kicked out at her. Olive teleported quickly to evade and tried to land on his leg only to be hit in the face by his other one. She was sent towards the ground, but a pillar launched up and met her halfway. It hit her with enough force to flip her over and land face down. The slab of earth then pinned her down. Xanthic shakily stood up, he was nearly petrified. He saw a murky green shockwave cover Olive's body momentarily, showing just how powerful that impact was.

His focus faltered and Mic Jay's voice strongly resonated with Xanthic's core, "Just you and me now, Youngblood."

The wall of flames suddenly went down and Xanthic saw Amelia unconscious and Riliane was unable to move, like there was a massive weight forcing her down. The man who had done that to them rested his sword on his shoulder, "You're smart enough to surrender right?"

"Wh-wha-what do y-you want..?" His entire body was trembling and his knuckles were turning white from how tight his grip was on the knife.

"It ain't what we want youngblood, it's what Humanity w-"

Basil punched Mic Jay in the arm then, ignoring his complaints, spoke, "You're coming with us." With every word he stepped closer and Xanthic stepped back until he was against the wall.

"I… I-I…" Xanthic whimpered and looked around.

" _Run you idiot!"_ Nivens screamed inside his head. He swallowed hard and tried to dart out of the alley, but a firebolt from Mic Jay's finger gun hit him squarely in the back making him stumble and fall.

"Guess you were just talkin jive to impress those skirts." Mic Jay said smugly.

Basil sighed and picked Xanthic up by his coat collar and threw him over his shoulder. "In the future you should listen when I tell you something."

Xanthic didn't resist, he knew he couldn't fight them and he couldn't run fast enough either. "I… I ca-can w-wa-walk…" he pleaded, at least he wouldn't feel completely helpless then.

"In front of me," Basil ordered as he put Xanthic down and sheathed his blade. Mic Jay lead the way, and annoyed them so much Nivens was begging Xanthic to use his semblance again.

* * *

Once the three had left the effects keeping Olive and Riliane in place faded and they shook Amelia back to consciousness. "What… what happened?" She moaned and shakily stood up.

"They took Xan," Olive reported picking up his scroll and returning the knife to its partner in the box.

"Wha-? Wh-why would they-?" Amelia began panicking.

Riliane cut her teammate off, "It doesn't matter, we can figure that out later. We need to find him now. Which way did they go, Olive?"

"They left through that end," She pointed deeper into the alley. "I mean, on your right."

Activating her semblance again Riliane ran out, "Olive, you check the south side! Amelia, you cover the North!"

"Rodger!" Olive poofed away.

"On it," Amelia ran off in the opposite direction.

* * *

The sun had set by the time Riliane called her teammates telling them to meet at the CCT. They felt as though they had literally searched all of Vale. "All three of us won't be able to search properly at night," She told them under the light of a lamp post. "We should just head back for tonight and we can ask Celeste and the others for help tomorrow."

"You're probably right…" Amelia sighed, "Sometimes I wish I had eyes like the faunus…"

"It'd be really nice," Olive said with a faint smile.

"Let's just head back for now," Riliane commanded halfheartedly. The other two begrudgingly agreed.

When they got back at Beacon team CODE was already waiting for them. Celeste looked furious, "Where have you guys been all day!? Honestly I could understand coming back after lunch but it's nearly midnight!"

The three girls all turned their heads away, but didn't respond. Owen's eyes widened and his hushed voice was full of concern, "Celeste, calm dow-"

"Calm down!? I've been stressed out about _them_ for hours and _I'm_ supposed to calm down!?"

"You don't understa-"

"No, I don't understand! I don't understand why you'd come back so late without so much as-!"

"Just shut up and listen to me already!" Owen silenced her, though only for a moment.

"Excuse m-"

"Do a headcount!"

"What're you-" Celeste blinked. "Wh-where's Xanthic?"

"You'd probably know by now if you hadn't been yelling," Owen sighed and turned away from his partner.

"So… What happened?" D'art asked cautiously.

"He's…" Riliane began, "Xanthic was kidnapped…"

"What!?" Celeste stopped herself from getting too loud. Eve only stood their, silently covering her mouth, though it did nothing to hide the fear in her eyes.

"These two guys fought us in the alleys and they took him. We think they were part of Humanity" Olive explained further.

"What makes you think that?" Eve asked quietly

"One of them mentioned it as they left" Riliane responded dejectedly

"When did this happen?" Celeste said after managing to calm herself down a bit.

"A little bit after we left your family's shop," Riliane told her. "We've been looking for him till now… Ozpin said not to worry and leave it to the authorities…"

A short silence fell before Celeste made her decision, "We need to find him."

"Wha-what do you plan to do right now?" D'art asked. "Owen's the only one here that can even see right now."

"We could get the Lion's to help," Celeste said. "I mean, you guys wouldn't have even been in town today if it wasn't for Dan."

"I-it's not their fault though…" Amelia clarified, "We're the ones that forced Xanthic to go today…"

"Hm… Fine, but listen, do you guys want to find him or not?" Celeste asked and began walking away.

"Of course!" Riliane was the first to follow after her.

Celeste lead them all into the library and pulled a detailed map of Vale off of one wall and spread it across a large table, then covered it in a semi transparent paper. Handing Olive a pen she asked, "Now, where do you know he's not?"

After nearly half an hour Olive finished marking off the locations they had been able to confirm earlier that day. "Wow…" D'art breathed, "You guys covered a lot of ground…"

"Not enough though…" Riliane sighed. "Who knows what could be happening to him right now?"

"Don't talk like that…" Amelia mumbled, she didn't want to lose anyone else.

"We'll find him!" Celeste declared.

"Isn't this what the police are for?" D'art asked.

"With how little they're doing about the rally, I doubt they'd do much to find one student." Owen remarked.

"Don't forget that one student is the lone heir to a multi-million lien company." D'art argued. "How do we even know they really are part of Humanity? They might just be some thugs using the name cause they heard it on the news."

"I doubt that…" Riliane explained, "One of them I think was that man from the Ridge and the other was apparently a famous musician…"

"But Xanthic did say something about him being down on his luck though," Amelia was choosing to believe Dart's reasoning. "Maybe he was hoping to get some fast money and thought the name would scare us."

"Maybe…"

"Whatever the reason and whoever the culprit is can wait, we need to figure out where they are first." Celeste said pulling architectural indexes from the shelves and handing them out. "There are possibilities of good hideouts in every district, so we have to look for something specific."

"Ri-right," Riliane tried to compose herself again, trying her best to help she took the electronic route with her scroll and listened to the videos she could find about Vale's architecture. None of them were particularly helpful. Every once in awhile though, she could hear the crinkle of paper as one of the others would cross off another location. None of the students knew how long it was until they all dozed off.

* * *

The sky grew a pale grey as the sun began rising. The clock in the main library ticked throughout the room, echoing off the countless rows of books and empty tables and chairs. In the middle of the room, the group of teenagers were slumped over a table. Maps and books were sprawled across it's surface as they slept quietly. The one absent member, Eve, gently closed the oak door behind her as she tiptoed back into the room and across the floor to her companions. Setting the tray of coffee and tea on the table, she gently shook her partner awake. D'art rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly.

"What?"

"Coffee?" Eve asked softly. D'art gratefully grabbed a mug and drank it greedily. "How's it going?" Eve questioned.

"Terrible." D'art muttered, setting his mug down. "We haven't found anything regarding Xanthic. We have no leads." Eve nodded and swallowed. "I don't know what we're going to do." D'art continued, his hands massaging his face.

"Are we supposed to be in the library this early?" Eve sat down and grabbed a cup of tea.

"Who knows. I don't think anyone cares." D'art's fingers traced circles across the map and he sighed. "What if he's- What if Xanthic isn't even-" His voice died off and Eve gripped his shoulder tightly.

"He's not." Eve assured without looking at him. "Trust me. He's not."

"How do you know?" D'art asked helplessly.

"Because it's Xanthic." Eve replied slowly. "He'll be fine, don't worry." D'art nodded solemnly. The two jumped as Olive suddenly sat up abruptly.

"Tea!" She cried out, sniffing the air. The entire table quickly woke up. Amelia and Riliane both sat up and stretched.

"Whass dat sound?" Celeste slurred, a strand of blue hair in her mouth. Olive grabbed a mug of tea and grinned around it.

"Sorry about that." Olive chirped. Squinty eyed, Celeste sleepily pointed at her friend before slumping back onto the table, asleep.

"How can you even smell tea…?" Owen asked, waking up. Olive shrugged. Owen frowned and closed his eyes, about to sleep again before Eve yanked him up by the ear with her free hand.

"There was something I needed to talk about with all of you." Eve said finally as she released him. She shook Celeste awake, dodging a punch that her teammate threw at her.

"Listen." The raven haired girl snapped, the table fell silent. "I know," She took a deep breath. "I know where Xanthic is." Her friends stared at her, shocked wide awake due to her revelation.

"You what?" Celeste slurred.

"I know where Xanthic is." Eve said once more. Celeste's eyes widened.

"What? How?" D'art asked abruptly. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Let me finish." Eve set her cup of tea on the table. "I didn't say anything because it has to do with my past, and it's very difficult for me to share."

"But what does Xanthic being missing have to do with your past?" Riliane asked timidly. Eve was silent as she traced along the lines and delicate symbols of the tea cup.

"Because you think Xanthic was kidnapped by the same organization I worked for, Humanity." Eve said finally. Her friends stared at her shocked, waiting for her to elaborate. Celeste and D'art exchanged confused glances. Eve quickly looked down, her black hair fell across her face and she continued. "I didn't _want_ to work for them of course. I was kidnapped into it when I was very young and I didn't have a choice. They would take children across the kingdom with potential and train them to fight and I was one of them-"

"Hold up, you were _in_ Humanity?" Celeste asked, appalled as she recovered over her previous shock. Eve looked away as her teammate stood up abruptly. "Why didn't you tell us before?!"

"You think that's easy to bring up?"

"It doesn't matter! You're our teammate, teammates are supposed to tell each other everything!"

"I just did tell you." Eve said quickly, her eyes darkening.

"Celeste-" Owen was cut off as Celeste pushed him aside.

"And what about you? Did you know about this?!" Celeste snapped. Owen wilted a little.

"I didn't know that she was in Humanity exactly no...but I knew something was up."

"You didn't think about mentioning that?!"

"It was none of my business what happened in her past." Owen said quickly. "It's none of yours either so I didn't broadcast it, no."

"Well I'm sure it's easy to keep it to yourself, you can just read anyone's mind whenever you want." Celeste hissed. Owen frowned, a little hurt.

"Do you have any idea how huge this is?" Celeste asked, her tone dropping considerably. "Would you have even told us if Xanthic hadn't gone missing?" For this, Eve was silent. The raven haired girl sat down and avoided the gazes of her teammates.

"Celeste, calm down." Riliane said quietly, she blindly reached and tugged on her friend's sleeve. Celeste took a deep shuddering breath and then shook her head.

"I can't believe this." She huffed, pulling her arm away and storming out. Riliane looked back and forth in their general direction and then stood up and hurried after Celeste. Eve watched the two leave, her face a mask of disappointment and hurt. The group of friends was silent, neither knowing what to say or how to react. D'art's mouth was slightly open, Amelia was staring at her like she was an alien, and Olive was observing her intensely. Beside them, Owen was silent, both slightly surprised but also composed.

"So you were in Humanity…?" D'art asked finally. Eve nodded clearing her throat as her face became impassive. D'art took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Jeez."

"That organization that…that hurt all those faunus at the rally?" Amelia asked, a little disgusted as she exchanged glances with Olive who had a serious look on her face.

"And you're not with them anymore though, right?" Olive asked, eyeing her friend.

"No, god no." Eve clarified quickly. "After I learned the truth I escaped and never looked back. I thought that they had maybe disbanded, or just fallen into oblivion. I never thought I would ever see them again, I never _wanted_ to. I hate them now, more than anything." Olive nodded, still a little unsure.

"Wait so where is Xanthic then?" D'art asked. Eve scanned the map quickly and then pointed to a small spot near the lower left corner of the paper. After she removed her finger, her teammates crowded around the map.

"They took new recruits and the kidnapped from this area here." Eve clarified. "At least they did when I was there, and I doubt they changed it..

"Why didn't you tell the police about them before?" Olive asked.

"I tried." Eve admitted. "They didn't believe me, a hidden cult-like organization abducting children?" Eve laughed wearily. "Humanity perfectly covered up the abductions so I just ended up drawing attention to myself. I just disappeared and tried to forget it all happened.

"There's one more thing you forgot to tell them." Owen added. Eve glanced at him.

"Right," She replied as she looked back at her friends. "I'm a faunus." D'art, Olive, and Amelia stared at her.

"How many more bombs are you going to drop?" D'art asked, exasperated.

"This is the last one, I swear." Said Eve quickly.

"Where's your-" D'art paused as he pointed to his head and back. "Faunus thingie."

"I had a tail but it was amputated." Amelia stifled a gasp and even Olive looked surprised.

"It's okay, really." Eve soothed. "But enough about me, Xanthic is our first priority."

"But your tail-" Amelia began.

"I doubt it'll ever grow back." Eve said as she stared at the map. "That's fine though, I'm not particularly sad about it. I just wanted you all to know."

"My god Eve." Amelia whispered. "Thank you for telling us though." Eve forced a smile and nodded.

"What kind of faunus were you? A cat? A lion? What about a fish?" D'art inquired.

"I don't think there are any fish faunus D'art. But I don't know exactly, I never found out."

"Enough." Olive commanded. "We need to get Xanthic back. That is our most important goal. We can discuss more about Eve's past later. From what we know of this organization though, they're cruel and unpredictable. He's in danger."

"What do you suggest then?" D'art asked, hopping up onto the table.

"We get him back as soon as possible." Olive said, her eyes narrowing. "After we get Celeste and Riliane back we should prepare and go."

"Shouldn't we wait a bit longer?" Amelia asked softly. "If we tell Ozpin we can get some reinforcements."

"We don't want big numbers." Olive countered. "We just want a quick infiltration, in and out. If we arouse attention that will be bad. Eve," Olive turned towards the raven haired girl. "Do you remember the layout of the factory?" Eve nodded and grabbed a pencil and a sheet of paper. After making a quick sketch, Eve put the pencil down and pointed at the picture.

"I remember it pretty well. That's the front entrance- don't typically want to go in through there." Her finger moved across the page. "That's the side entrance for supplies, it's typically rarely guarded, that would be the best route." Olive began to roll up the map.

"That's our infiltration route then. Someone get Riliane and Celeste"

* * *

The group set off, No one looked back as they made their way out of Beacon and into the lower area of Vale. Behind the main group, Celeste had fallen behind, staring angrily at the cement. She had refused to talk to anyone since she stormed out of the library, especially Eve. Continuing her attempt from earlier, Riliane slowed her pace so she was next to her friend. "Hey again," she said in an attempt at a cheerful tone.

Celeste gave her an annoyed look. "Leave me alone," She stated, walking faster.

"W-wait!" Riliane replied quickly, hurrying beside her. Celeste sighed, her eyes sliding to the blonde.

"Why are you so upset?" Riliane asked finally.

"What do you mean _why_ are you so upset?" Celeste snapped, looking away. "I can't believe Eve didn't tell us that she was in Humanity sooner."

"Well yeah, I get that, but it just seems like there is more to it." Riliane replied. Celeste's shoulders dropped a little.

"It's nothing." She muttered.

"It's clearly not nothing." Said Riliane.

"It's stupid anyways."

"I can't help if you don't tell me." Riliane replied softly. Celeste, still looking away, let out a quiet sigh.

"I've never really...gotten along with people before. I don't really see the point of it. But Eve understood that, we're similar in that aspect so I felt like I could be honest with her." She frowned. "I thought she had told me almost everything about her. And then- and then she apparently had this entire past I never knew about. It's like some sick joke. It makes me wonder if anything she said was true at all." Celeste finished bitterly. Riliane nodded, understanding.

"That's not stupid"

"It is." Celeste said quickly. Riliane shook her head.

"You two are fairly close. It makes sense that you would be hurt if she never told you something that big."

"I just...don't understand. Did she not trust me?"

"Im sure she trusts you, maybe losing that trust is exactly what she was afraid of," Riliane replied. "She was probably afraid you would judge her, that we all would, and you can't blame her for that." Celeste was silent, still angry though she had calmed down considerably.

Concerned about Celeste's silence Riliane spoke up quickly, "B-but Listen. I know you're angry about this but your team needs their leader. So could you bear with it a little while longer so we can find Xanthic?"

"Fine. I'll talk to her later" Celeste said with a bitter sigh. She readjusted her jacket and then quickened her pace so that she passed the others. Eve Silently watched her go by, her face tense.

Riliane started to follow suit but stopped when she heard Owen chuckle "Knew she couldn't stay mad with you around"

"What do you mean?" Riliane responded confused

"Oh nothing" Owen replied clearly amused about something.

...

Within half an hour they reached their objective. Any form of joking was stopped as the factory loomed up before them, it's rusted walls silhouetted by the still rising sun. No one had even taken a step forward before they heard blood curdling screams echoing from deep within. They cast quick and confused glances at each other before they snuck in through the fence and rushed into the side entrance, trying to prepare themselves for whatever the building contained.


	16. Chapter 15

**12 Minutes Earlier:**

Xanthic could hear pain fueled screams echo throughout the metal building. As the noises grew closer his breathing hastened. He pressed himself against a yet to be bloodied wall and became completely silent thanks to his semblance, though he still couldn't control his furiously shaking leg. The connecting hallway had only the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps and Xanthic's heart raced. Suddenly the door was flung open making him jump. A man turned his head and saw him, "Run you idi-" Two parallel claw blades were pulled out of his back as he dropped to the floor dead. His white uniform quickly staining a deep red. His assailant entered the room and all Xanthic could make out was the color pink before his grasp on reality disappeared.

...

The pungent smell of blood faded, but was still noticeable in the distance. Xanthic heard a piercing clash of metal and ran through the trees to find the source. As soon as he reached the treeline he recognised where he was. Keshiki. This was the place he called home for ten years. On the paved courtyard he recognised four people, two of which were on the ground. "Stop!" He yelled out, but his voice couldn't reach them. Xanthic watched helpless as his father ran a slender blade through the chest of Ghira Belladonna. Orelon Picto sheathed his sword and used the cane for stability as he limped towards his beloved wife. Xanthic ran to close the distance between them and stopped first at the younger faunus man with antlers, who was trying desperately to stand. "Pr-prongs! A-are you-"

"Don't touch me!" He slapped away the arms that were being outstretched to assist him. "I'd rather die here than-" Prongs coughed and specks of blood landed on the stonework, "Than live knowing a pathetic creature like you helped me!"

"I just-"

"Do the world a favor and j-join your parents, Picto!"

With a punch to Xanthic's leg sealing his point Prongs eased himself back to the ground. Avoiding a look at the leader of the White Fang, Xanthic went to Orelon's side. "Fa-father..?"

"You're late as usual." His tone sent shivers down Xanthic's spine.

He swallowed back his tears, "I-I'm sorry. I- maybe I could've-"

"It doesn't matter what you could've!" Orelon turned quickly and struck Xanthic's jaw with his cane which sent an electrical shock through his body and forced him to the ground. "The fact is you didn't! You were off doing nonsense when you should've been here!"

"I-I didn't-" A large bruise already formed on his face.

"You didn't what!? For once in your pitiful life speak up boy!"

Looking up Xanthic could see the condition his father was in. The whole left half of his shirt was torn and bloody and what part of his chest that was visible was bruised. "Father you-"

"You have no right to call me that. Even if I did have a son he wouldn't be a coward like you. And he certainly wouldn't have anything to be ashamed of, unlike you. The only mistake Claire's ever made was choosing you." Orelon swung his cane again knocking Xanthic's hat away and allowing his loppy rabbit ears to drop freely to his shoulders.

...

Suddenly the terrifying face of Orelon disappeared and was replaced by a young girl with pink hair and just as fierce blue eyes, though he could see a hidden trace of compassion in hers. Xanthic's legs gave out in fear, "W-wh-what was tha-at!? W-Wh-Who are you!?"

"Leave." The girl commanded plainly.

"Wha- I do- I don't u-under-"

"Just go!" Not wanting to see what would happen if he made her repeat herself for a third time Xanthic got up and started running in a stumbling mess.

* * *

 **Present:**

The two teams entered the factory cautiously. The rusted floors and dimmed corridors were uninviting and filled with an unshakable feeling of dread. Not a minute had passed before they heard another blood curdling scream. Riliane jumped and Celeste whipped around to look behind them. But the hallway was dark and empty.

"What was that?" Amelia asked uneasily. D'art opened his mouth to reply before there was another scream, and then another. And then it seemed as if they would never end.

However, after a few seconds the cries of agony ceased, as quickly as they had come. The teens exchanged a few fearful looks before sprinting down the hallway. As they reached the end of the corridor, the first thing they noticed was the gradual change in smell; like a cloud in the air, the pungent stench of blood and death wafted in the factory, thick and toxic. Riliane doubled over and gagged, covering her mouth with her hand. The rest scrunched their noses and tried not to breathe. But they kept going. After rounding a corner they skidded to a stop, shocked at what they saw.

Scattered across the hallway like broken toys were bodies, twisted in unnatural ways and broken into little pieces. It was as if a small child who had tired of their enjoyment had carelessly thrown them aside. Blood was strewn across the walls and pooled on the floor like paint splatters. From what the teens could see, it was the remains of guards. The mouths of the victims were open in a silent "o" shape. Their eyes were glassy, reflecting their terror and agony. For those who still had their appendages attached, their arms were outstretched, reaching for whatever salvation was left to them before they were slaughtered. Celeste took in a quick breath and Eve's eyes widened. D'art stumbled back, gagging and backing into Amelia who had thrown up.

"Good god." D'art whispered.

"Who would do this?" Amelia asked, her face filled with disgust and contempt.

"It's disgusting." Owen covered his mouth again and looked away from the bloodied scene.

"Guys! W-what is it!" Riliane demanded, worriedly glancing around at the direction of her various friends.

"Bodies." Celeste said quietly, looking away. "Lots of them."

Riliane swallowed nervously. "W-What about Xanthic? What if he's-"

"He's not here." Olive replied quickly, her eyes sweeping across the carnage. "Xanthic must be somewhere else."

"Well we have to find him fast." Celeste snapped. "Whatever killed these guards was ruthless."

"I think we should split up." Eve commanded. "We don't have much time." Olive nodded.

"I agree."

"In situations like this we should stick together." Owen countered. I can't communicate with you guys if you're too far away."

"It can't be helped." D'art replied. "If we split up we'll have a higher chance of finding Xanthic faster." Owen was silent and then nodded.

"I agree." Riliane added. "Xanthic must be found no matter what."

"Same." Said Amelia.

"Then it's settled." Olive said. "We'll split up. You'll take the left corridor and we'll take the right. We'll meet back at the entrance, got it?" Olive ordered. The teenagers stared at each other, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time they would see each other. And then they separated. Team ROXA hurried down the left corridor, waving briefly before they disappeared into the darkness. Team CODE sprinted down the right, their thoughts filled with worry and dread.

Xanthic ran as quickly as possible trying to remember the path he had been taken down before. After a few turns he realized that he did not recognize the rooms he was passing. Desperately he continued attempting to find his way out of the factory, trying to avoid thinking about the new coloring of the rooms. Rounding another corner Xanthic ran directly into somebody and fell backwards. Instantly his arms went up to hide his face.

...

Elsewhere, Team CODE made their way through the factory cautiously. The route they had chosen consisted of an unmissable path of carnage for them to follow.

"I still can't believe what happened here." Celeste said. "Did the Grimm do this?"

D'art solemnly shook his head and responded "No, this is too efficient. Whatever did this killed as quickly as it possibly could... as if it wanted nothing to escape."

Sensing the team all considering the same dark thought Owen chimed in quickly "Xanthic is gonna be fine guys! We have nothing to worry about!" The team nodded in agreement and moved on, but even Owen couldn't hide the doubt in his voice as they continued to follow the trail into an open room.

The room seemed to be the end of the line. What was left of the guards surrounded the doorframe marking the location of their attempt at a last stand. Inside the room a lone figure in a suspiciously stained pink hoodie with ears sewn on top paced back and forth mumbling to itself amongst the carnage. As Eve entered the room she recognized the hoodie immediately and called out in surprise, "Yukina?"

...

As the girls of ROXA rounded another corner somebody ran into Riliane. Instantly drawing her bow back she demanded, "Who's there!?"

"Xa-Xanthic..?" Amelia questioned the boy who was currently cowering in fear.

Recognising the voices he lowered his arms slightly, "Am-m-melia? Ri-Rilia-ane..?" He didn't entirely believe they were there.

"Xanthic! You're alright!" Riliane lowered her weapon and reached out to help him up, but he jumped away from her. Clutching his hat Xanthic stared at her and her bow, the other two could see the tears beginning to cloud his vision. "Xanthic, it's me." She lowered her voice in an effort to help calm him down.

His tears silently fell. Xanthic forced his eyes shut and suddenly yelled, "I wanna go home!" With his breathing choppy he returned to his usual volume, "I wa- I want my mom and dad! I- I want her to teach me ar-archery a-and to show me how she makes su-such good food! And h-he could teach me about the plants and th-the animals! Ple-please… I just wa- I wanna go back…"

The three girls had no idea how they were supposed to react, they stood there confused watching his apparent breakdown until Xanthic gradually stopped crying and slowly stood up. He didn't look at any of them and he still sniffled occasionally, but he spoke in a commanding voice that none of them had heard before, "We need to get out of here." He grabbed Riliane's hand and began moving towards the exit again.

"We can't just leave," Riliane explained while stumbling, "Celeste and them are here too."

"Fine, we'll find them and get out as fast as possible." Nivens ordered begrudgingly.

...

The figure turned revealing a young girl with an outfit matching her pink hair and a look of bewilderment on her face as she heard her name called out. As the other members of CODE stared on in confusion the mysterious girl responded, "Eve? Is that really..." The girl named Yukina didn't finish her sentence as she started to walk towards Eve only to have her path blocked by Celeste.

"Holdit right there!" Celeste stated, "I don't know who you are or how you and Eve know each other, But we just walked through something out of a horror film to get here. So before you go anywhere near my friend you better explain what is going on and explain fast." After a few seconds of silence Celeste briefly wondered if she was being too harsh on the young girl, after all the innocent look on her face reminded her of her younger brother. And judging by the dazed look and unmistakeable dark stains covering her, she had seen some terrible things. "Look we are trying to find someone, We just need-"

"Friend?" Yukina interrupted, turning her gaze from Eve to stare Celeste in the eyes, "Eve is your friend?"

As Celeste and the strange girl were talking Owen decided to take a peek at the girl's thoughts. To his surprise he found them random and incoherent, only being able to pick up certain things like confusion, pain, and anger. "Guys," He called out nervously "Something doesn't feel right."

Ignoring her teammate Celeste responded, "Yes she's my friend, we all are."

This statement caused Yukina's expression to become more confused "But that... but she... she wouldn't have..." Yukina backed away from Celeste and started to mumble again seeming as if she was having some sort of argument with herself. Celeste looked between her teammates and the girl in confusion until Yukina suddenly stopped mumbling and stood still.

On the other side of the room Owen suddenly recoiled as the strange girl's thoughts unexpectedly cleared and started screaming one singular action, Kill. "Guys!" He called out again, but was too late as Yukina suddenly stepped towards Celeste and made eye contact with her now burning blue gaze.

For a second nothing happened after Owen's call, but the tension in the room abruptly snapped as Celeste let out an anguished scream that seemed to echo throughout the room and put a dark smile on Yukina's face. "Celeste!?" Dart called out as he and Owen jumped to their leader's aid, leaving behind Eve who was seemingly in a daze. Using his longer weapon Owen swung at Yukina forcing her to step back breaking eye contact with Celeste causing her to drop to the ground and replace her screaming with quiet whimpers. The previously innocent expression on Yukina's face was now contorted into a look of malice.

"Oh, Do you want to play too?" Yukina mockingly asked with a laugh. "As you wish." The two boys then heard a click as twin pairs of clawed blades extended from each of her sleeves splattering the ground with the red drooling from their edges.

One look at the blades made D'art instantly realize they were responsible for the carnage throughout the building. Without hesitating he ran forward swinging down with his tomahawks only to find them blocked by Yukina's blades.

With a smile Yukina pushed forward letting her claws slip off the tomahawk blades and around their handles. D'art realized her plan too late as she pulled back with unexpected ferocity throwing him onto the ground, knocking his weapons out of his hands, and sending them tumbling across the room. But before she could capitalize Owen rushed in, once again trying to use the range of his weapon to his advantage.

Unlike last time Yukina now moved forward instead of back, putting herself too close for Owen to swing his polearm and running her blades down the weapon. Owen started to panic and tried to retract his weapon into gun form but was unable as he realized thick ice was covering the length of the weapon trapping it in its current form. The origin of the ice was plain to see as the now very close Yukina swiped at his chest with one of her newly ice covered claws. Although his aura took the brunt of the blow, It still sent him stumbling backwards and onto the ground.

As the two boys tried to recover the battle suddenly came to a halt as Eve yelled out, "Yukina!" At the call of her name the girl turned and froze once again transfixed at the sight of Eve. After a few seconds the ferocious look in her eyes went away and she started looking around the room at the downed members of CODE in a panic. Looking down at her weapons and then back at Eve, Yukina retracted the blades and suddenly ran out of the room. With a short glance at her teammates, Eve made a quick decision and sprinted after the fleeing girl.

Further down the blood soaked hallways Eve managed to catch up to Yukina and called out once again to her, "Wait! Yukina stop! Please!"

Stopping in the middle of the hall Yukina turned revealing a somber expression on her face, "So you are still alive after all." Eve stared at her friend, still in shock. She hadn't heard Yukina's voice in years and hearing it now was as if she was in a living nightmare.

"What are you doing here?" Eve asked quietly, not able to comprehend asking anything else.

"Revenge I suppose." Yukina responded with a weak laugh gesturing towards the scene covering the hall, "Or maybe pleasure, It's hard to tell nowadays..."

Eve swallowed. "How can you say this is pleasure? You just slaughtered a countless amount of people." She said shakily. Her palms were sweating and she was forced to wipe them on her shorts.

"Thugs, Kidnappers, Murderers," Yukina stated bluntly, "Not people. They got what was coming to them. What's that saying? Reap the fruit of one's own labor?"

"Police exist for a reason." Eve hissed, ashamed at what her friend had become. "Even if they've done horrible things it doesn't give you the justification to kill them. Some of these people could have had families, children. Can you imagine how they'll feel when they learn their parent is dead?"

"You think you have the right to tell me what is right and wrong?!" Yukina suddenly shouted with tears starting to slowly roll down her face. "After you left me with them! After you abandoned me!" Eve winced at her statement.

"For that...I'm sorry. I am. I-I couldn't forgive myself after I left you. I'm so sorry…" Eve held back a sob as she covered her mouth from both the stench of blood and because of her breaking voice.

Wiping away her tears, A look of anger returned to Yukina's face. "You know… I convinced myself that you were dead. Because there was no way that you would just leave me. There was no way the person I- That you would never come back for me... I suppose that was just foolish dream right?"

"No." Eve said finally, she shook her head vigorously. "Yukina, listen to me. After I got out, I never stopped trying to rescue you all. I tried searching for our parents… I-I did everything I could but no one listened. I never stopped regretting that I left you, you were the one thing that kept me sane in that horrid place." Eve took a step closer to her friend, her hands were trembling. "Please…"

"You knew where I was… you could have found me if you had really tried." Yukina said taking steps away from Eve, "Yet here you are, With new friends and a new life. Having forgotten me and our so called friendship." Stopping she laughed weakly, "You remember what they told us about the faunus? About how they were monsters… I guess they weren't entirely wrong… We both prove that, right?"

"Yukina-" Eve started, but the pink haired girl cut her off.

"Don't go after humanity… And don't look for me… I don't want to hurt you." As she turned and walked down the hall and out of sight Eve could barely make out her last words, "But I'm not sure I can stop myself…"

* * *

The rest of CODE caught up to Eve just in time to see Yukina disappear into the hallway, no one tried to stop her from leaving nor did they approach their teammate. A few minutes later, Team ROXA hurried down to the others, explaining that they had heard yelling. After a short reunion with Xanthic, the group of teens walked up to Eve silently, gingerly stepping over the blood and gore smeared on the floor. The raven haired girl said nothing, her head was tilted slightly towards the ground.

"Eve?" D'art asked softly. "We found the others, we can go now." Eve was unresponsive, her bangs fell over her eyes as she muttered something. D'art strained to hear the incoherent speech.

"...Eve?" Slowly, D'art reached for his partner, his hand rested on her shoulder as he tried to pull her back. Eve whipped around and slapped his hand away. Her eyes were crazed.

"Don't touch me." She hissed, her eyes flicked away from him to avoid his gaze, to avoid the gaze of all of them.

"No, we're not leaving just yet. Who was that?" Celeste demanded, pushing to the front of the group. "What was that?" Without responding, Eve shivered and kept walking forward.

"Wait, what happened?" Olive asked.

"Some crazy pink haired chick attacked our team!" Celeste snapped. "And she seemed to know Eve very well."

Olive looked back at her friend."Eve?" She asked. Silent, the raven haired girl began to walk forward. Celeste followed her. The rest of the teens exchanged worried looks, they knew this wouldn't go anywhere good.

"Answer me! Who was she?" Celeste yelled. Eve said nothing, she continued to walk down the corridor. "I'm sick and tired of all your secrets!" She continued. It's always one thing after another! Why can't you just talk to us?!"

"Leave me alone!" Eve yelled, her voice cracking. "None of you will understand! All you do is pry, pry, pry! You'll never understand what I went through! You'll never understand who I am today because of it! All you'll see is my past, and you'll judge me because of that! Even though I've spent nearly every second of my life regretting everything I did!" Celeste was about to continue but Eve interrupted her. "You all act like I did some deplorable act by not telling you that I was in Humanity! But what would you have done if I told you when we first met?! Judged me! You would have arrested me! Don't deny it! You all know it's true!" Her words echoed down the hallway. The group of friends was silent, neither supporting or denying her claim. They didn't know what to say. Even Celeste was quiet. Eve, who was breathless, took a couple of quick breaths before running her hands through her hair and sighing.

"Just...leave me alone for a bit."

"No." Celeste said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "You're telling us who that was."

"Celeste…" Riliane hurried up to her friend, trying to calm her. "This isn't the time to-"

"We deserve to know." Celeste interrupted, adamant. Eve cast a miserable look at her before sighing.

"Fine." She fully turned around. "That was Yukina Freesis. Like me, she was kidnapped by Humanity and trained at a young age." She grimaced a little. "She was also my friend."

"Okay? And why didn't we hear about her before?" Celeste questioned impatiently.

"I didn't think it was needed."

"She nearly killed all of us." Celeste snapped.

"Well I didn't think I'd ever see her again." Eve countered with a hiss. "I never realized that she had become so…" The image of the broken, twisted bodies flashed through her mind and she swallowed. "So inhumane."

"She seemed incredibly unstable." Owen whispered. "I hate to think what will happen if we run into her again." Eve shivered a little.

"What was with her semblance anyways?" D'art inquired, glancing at Celeste. "It took you out of the fight completely."

"Yukina has the ability to make a person see their greatest fear." Eve said quietly. "She can only affect one person at a time, but it is incredibly real. And it makes her a difficult opponent to face. Especially when your fears are constantly changing." She glanced at Celeste as well. "What did you see anyways?" Celeste blinked and then looked away.

"Nothing important."

"You can't even share that much?"

"It's nothing important." Celeste repeated with grit teeth. The two stared at each other angrily before looking away.

"A-Anyways." Riliane cleared her throat. "The important thing is that we got Xanthic back. And that he's safe and sound." The group turned to look at Xanthic who was avoiding a direct gaze from anyone.

"Xanthic?"

The blonde boy suddenly recognized that he was being spoken to, "What?"

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm perfectly fine." Nivens replied, being surprisingly calm despite the carnage around him. He still didn't look at her though.

"That girl was crazy." D'art returned the conversation to their earlier encounter, he stared at his hand, opening and closing his fist. "None of my attacks even registered."

"I still can't believe she slaughtered all of those people without a care." Amelia whispered. Eve winced, as if the words were painful for her to hear.

"I just don't understand." Eve said. "She was always so warm and caring when I knew her. What happened to her?" The words hung ominously in the silence, not one knew the answer.

"We should go." Olive said finally. "We got Xanthic and we shouldn't stay here any longer."

"I would have been just fine on my own," Nivens said with a sigh.

"I agree." Amelia added, ignoring her friend. "This place gives me the creeps." The teens nodded and began to walk down the corridor. D'art fiddled with his tomahawks before sheathing them again. Owen quietly walked forward, his weapon making soft clinks on the floor. Nivens stared straight ahead, never looking down at the blood, as he followed the others out of the factory and several yards away before stopping to lean against another building. Riliane glanced at him, and then at the others who were continuing to walk out. Finally she decided to stand next to him, but he pushed off and started to walk away in a different direction.

She reached out and grabbed his sleeve, "Wait a minute. Where are you going?"

He glanced over at the others before looking back at the ground, "Let go."

"I… I don't think you should go off by yourself… I know you're just waiting for them to leave."

"You don't know what-" Nivens hummed in thought and then sighed. "I guess, if that's what you need right now…" He mumbled with his eyes closed and let himself lean against her. Eve glanced back at them, nodding when Riliane waved her off. The group of teens walked into the rising sun, glad to be out of the bloodied factory.


	17. Chapter 16

_**A/N: This is the finale of our first volume and we will be taking a short break to recuperate and enjoy the holidays. Our regular two week schedule will be back on track after Christmas.**_

The tugging of cables and shifting of gears echoed in the small chamber of the elevator as it ascended. Xanthic stood with his back pressed against the metal wall. His heel clicking loudly as his leg shook. "You- you're sure about doing this, right?"

" _The real question is if you are."_ Nivens told him

He sighed, "I know…" Xanthic jumped a little when the elevator stopped and the doors slid open smoothly. The room they revealed was large and circular, its glass ceiling hosted moving gears that suited the clockwork pattern on the floor. After taking a deep breath Xanthic walked towards the large desk at the back of the room and the two adults standing next to it, "You a-asked to speak with me, s-sir?"

"Yes," Ozpin gestured for Xanthic to take a seat.

"I… I'd prefer to st-stand sir. Th-thank you."

"Very well," He took a drink from his mug before setting it down and sitting in his chair. Leaning forward, resting his chin on his folded hands, Ozpin spoke in a tone that somehow managed to be both direct and serious, but also strangely comforting, "I realize you have been through quite an ordeal, but surely you understand there are some questions we must ask you." Xanthic nodded silently. "For starters, do you know why Humanity decided to take you in the first place?"

"Ah… Well, I d-don't know if they had any specific plans… But…" He could feel Glynda's hard stare and wanted to make sure he used the right words. "Wi-with my family history they, um, expected to re-recruit me."

Glynda was about to speak up, but Ozpin had already raised his hand for her to stay quiet. "What was their offer?"

Neither of them expected that kind of question. Xanthic took a small step back and remembered what he had been told the previous night. "I… I don't… It's…" He glanced to meet Ozpin's steady gaze, "He didn't really o-offer me anything…"

"Nothing at all?"

"No, n-not really."

"Not a very persuasive man then, now is he?" Ozpin paused, but didn't really expect to get an answer. "Could you tell me about him?"

"He um… he carried himself, li-like a nobleman. A-and he wore a black cloak, bu-but he was te-terrify-fying…" Xanthic covered his mouth with his hand.

"Could you identify him then?"

"Yes, ea-easily."

"I see." Ozpin leaned back against his chair, "That will be all for now, unless there is something else you'd like to add?"

"I…" Xanthic lowered his hand and looked down at it before taking a deep breath and fixing his posture. He made eye contact with Ozpin for the first time and spoke very clearly, "I would like to ask that you trust me, sir."

Ozpin somewhat hummed and thought carefully before answering, "I think that is manageable, but you should be going now. Your team would probably like some more time with you."

"Thank you, Professor." Xanthic turned to leave, but hesitated.

Nivens spoke honestly, "Ozpin… I know I haven't done much to prove myself, but I don't believe anyone should be allowed to judge how broken we are except for us. And I won't forgive that man for thinking he can."

A small smile appeared on the headmaster's face, "I would very much like to continue this conversation later, Mr. Picto."

"Of course." He smirked, "Life's finally interesting." He left before anything else could be said.

* * *

The halls of Beacon were fairly loud as the students were all finished with their classes. Nivens loosened the tie and collar of his uniform and took his jacket off as he walked back to the dorm. Just outside he could hear his teammates voices. Arriving at his dorm room he stopped with his hand reaching towards the handle as he heard his teammates' conversation perfectly clear. "Wouldn't it be better if he can just forget about it?" Amelia argued timidly.

"I don't think so," Riliane said. "You're supposed to talk about things like this, aren't you?"  
"If he needs to talk than he will," Olive mediated between them. "Xan knows he can trust us."

"We shouldn't pressure him on it," Amelia decided.

"I guess you're right… I just don't want him to feel alone," Riliane sighed.

"Idiots," Nivens mumbled, "That's what I'm here for." He resisted the urge to punch the door and continued walking. His plan was to retreat to the section of roof that Xanthic and claimed for himself early in the year. Unfortunately his timing couldn't have been worse as he crossed paths with the full SDTM team.

Upon seeing him, Dan's cheery expression turned to a glare, "What're you staring for?"

"Hmm?" Nivens broke eye contact and shrugged, "It's nothing, just glad I don't have to sit in the hallway anymore."

"No one asked you to go down every day."

"I guess not." He sighed, "Probably would've been better if I didn't. Yesterday might've just been another boring day then-" Nivens hand shot up to his head as he got a sudden sharp pain.

He staggered slightly and Tigre stepped forward to support him, "You alright?"

"Fine," Nivens claimed through clenched teeth despite tightly gripping Tigre's arm. "I'm fine. Everything's alright…" He began mumbling and only Moonracer could make out what he was saying, "You're fine, you're fine. I'm sorry… Calm down please…" After a minute of talking to himself, his legs stopped shaking and he let go of Tigre. "Thanks… 'Scuse me." Nivens walked past them and continued to his destination, now at a hastened pace.

He closed the door with his body and slowly slid down to be sitting, "I should've been more careful, I'm sorry." There wasn't a response. "Hey! You can't block me out when it's this important!"

" _I… I do-don't-"_ Xanthic was sobbing in his thoughts.

"You don't have the option to run away anymore."

" _I-I know…"_

Nivens stopped talking out loud, " _And you're thinking about it all wrong. Unlike most people, you got a new start. You found a new home, at least it was mostly good. But you can make it better if you stop doubting yourself so much."_

" _Y-you really thi-think so?"_

" _When have I ever told_ _ **you**_ _a lie? And as for thirteen years ago, that was thirteen years ago. The dead don't matter anymore, but you are still alive and that is what's important."_

" _H-how can you say they do-don't matter?"_

" _Because it's true. Until last night you couldn't even remember what they looked like and I know you can't name a single way they've had an influence on you currently."_

" _I gu-guess… But-"_

" _But what? We both know that whatever that was with Riliane was because that crazy pink chick messed with your head. You were hyped up on adrenaline, fear, and stress. That hallucination you had doesn't even make any sense and you know that."_ It fell silent. Not a single thought was vocalised after that. Nivens stayed up there, just looking at the horizon until it got dark and too cold for comfort. He returned to his dorm ignoring his teammates greetings as he collected his pajamas, he hesitated and sighed before grabbing his night cap as well, and left to change in the bathroom.

Xanthic was the one that returned, "I-I'm back…"

"Hey Xan~" Olive greeted him as if he hadn't just been there.

He layed down on his bed with an arm over his eyes and mumbled, "We should go camping sometime…"

"What?" Riliane sat on the edge of her bed next to Olive.

"I remember sleeping in trees when I was little. The way the leaves move… it's relaxing…"

* * *

Three days later:

A young rabbit faunus stood in his small hut of a house. The bottoms of his feet were sliced open from the shattered dishes. His blood seeping into the ground. Outside the clear moonlit sky perfectly highlighted the mangled bodies of his family and neighbors. Some had limbs severed. Some had gashes in their sides. Some couldn't be identified. He felt his whole body tremble as his vision flashed to the dark and bloodied factory. Pain struck his head like a bullet and he collapsed to the ground.

...

"MOMMY!" Xanthic woke with a scream. Curling himself into a ball he felt his face drenched in both sweat and tears.

"X-Xanthic?" Riliane got up first and attempted to reach out to him.

He instinctively slapped her hand away, "N-n-no… No no nonono!" He pulled the covers over himself, but his teammates could still see how much he was shaking.

"Are… are you alright?" She touched his side through the blankets.

His body suddenly stopped. "Don't touch me," He said sternly.

"What..?"

"I said don't touch me!"

"S-sorry…" Riliane carefully removed her hand.

"Just buzz off!" Nivens was still hiding beneath the sheets.

"I'm not going to just leave you like this."

"Why not!? I-" He groaned in pain. "H-he doesn't need _you_! You'll just make it worse!" His semblance began flickering in and out causing each word to be at different volumes.

"How would I-"

"Because you're too much like both of them!"

"Like who..?"

"Just shut up already!"

Riliane shook with anger, but she managed to maintain a calm in her voice. "Amelia, please."

The girl nodded and touched the corner of the bed. In an instant the sheets began to move. They lifted themselves up and folded to the corner she held, leaving Nivens completely exposed. "Why..?" He growled with anger, "Why can't you idiots just leave me alone!?"

"Because whether you like it or not we are a team and you need to realize that means you can trust us."

"It's easy to use a word for your own benefit isn't it." He let out a harsh laugh. "Shouldn't that also mean that you can trust me to handle my own problems?"

"But your problems are our problems now too."

"Bullshit they are! None of you even know anything about me!"

"Probably because you're always contradicting yourself Nivens!"

They both stopped suddenly and Nivens stared at her, "And you wonder why I don't trust people." He stood up and grabbed some clothes from the closet and left.

"Wh-what was that?" Amelia asked.

"Why'd you call him by his middle name?" Olive questioned.

"I… I um…" She wasn't sure if she should tell them, it wasn't her secret to tell anyway.

It was only a few minutes until Nivens returned dressed in a very different ensemble than usual. His grey and blue jacket was cut short and only had one sleeve and the lime green ribbons on his boots were replaced with dark blue. The pants he wore were a dark grey and his tank top a solid white. Throwing his pajamas onto his bed he told them, "Tell Port that I'm sick or something." He grabbed his mask out from his desk and made to leave.

Amelia was trying to understand what was happening, "Where are you going, Xanthic?"

"What, did miss blabbermouth not tell you my real name yet?" He didn't turn to face them, "I'm going out."

"You're skipping class?"

"Yes, I am. Could you not figure that out yourself?" With a groan he left with his mask on. Stopping in the bathroom once more Nivens hung his hat on one of the stalls and pulled all of the bobby pins in his hair out to let his ears fall down. "Gods how long has it been?" He rubbed his hair to mess it up a little and gave a short massage to each ear. " _Don't worry, I'll figure this all out somehow."_ Adjusting his mask one final time he went to the locker room to grab his weapon before heading out into the Emerald Forest.

His current emotional state quickly attracted the creatures of grimm. Within only minutes of entering the woods he was surrounded by beowolves. Nivens cracked his knuckles and activated the plasmic dust in his gauntlets, "Let's go!" He charged at the closest wolf and jumped up to jab his hand through its neck.

After the final one faded into smoke Nivens took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. He stared into the palm of his gauntlets, " _See, nothing to worry about anymore. It won't- It can't happen again because we're strong now."_

" _I know… We should… we should go back and apologize…"_

" _Fine I suppose. Think you can handle that conversation?"_

" _I-I think so…"_

" _Let's head back then."_ Nivens waited until he knew classes were in session so that nobody would see him in the bathroom as he rehid his ears. He returned to his dorm and at some point while reading his comics his consciousness switched over so that Xanthic was in control again.

"Should we maybe go to class instead of just waiting here?"

" _Do you really wanna go to class before smoothing things over?"_

"Go-good point…"

* * *

After nearly three hours, the teenagers had finally finished their training. They trudged through the hallway, releasing exhausted sighs. Sunshine peaked through the windows of the hallways, casting warm light on their skin.

"Remind me never to upset Professor Port again." D'art said with groan. "God my back hurts."

"I think you really struck a nerve there." Eve admitted. "Although I wish you hadn't brought us all into it."

"What can I say? You all were the first people to pop up into my head." D'art said with a small bow. "You should be flattered."

"I'll punch you." Celeste said flatly. D'art held up his hands innocently. She mostly ignored him and focussed her attention on Riliane, "Y'know you've been weirdly quiet today. What's up?"

"It's… complicated," Riliane replied.

"Is it about Xanthic not being here?" D'art asked casually.

Owen waved the situation off, "Nivens is just being moody."

"Who's Nivens?" Celeste asked.

"H-how did you know about him?" Riliane was somewhat stunned.

"Well you know how Xan's always having like a half conversation with himself?" They all showed a level of recognition and could recall various situations. "Well I was curious and it turned out that the other half was a voice in his head. I never realized it was to the extent of a full split personality though."

"That would explain why he acted so different when we first met," Eve thought outloud. "And his eyes too I'm guessing."

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Celeste was even snippier when speaking to Eve.

She made a sharp "tsk" before responding, "Did you not notice that they change color sometimes?"

"No, why would I notice something like that?"

"Maybe cause he's the only guy short enough for you to look in the eye," Owen chuckled and received a swift punch to the gut.

"But wait," D'art interjected, "What do you mean he's being moody?"

"Whatever happened to him at the factory really got to Xanthic and I think he's been trying to bottle up his feelings for too long." Riliane explained. "So he finally just kind of exploded…" Amelia put a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I just hope he's going to be okay…"

The group walked in awkward silence each thinking about the revelation until Olive broke the tension "He'll be fine, I'm sure." She reassured them. "But all of that aside, I'm taking a bath."

"Same, I reek." Celeste said, scrunching her nose up.

"I'll come as well." Replied Eve.

"We'll see you guys later then!" Olive called out, waving to the other members.

"I'll probably stop by the bathrooms later." Amelia added. "I need to ask Professor Peach about this homework first."

"Sounds good." Olive chirped as the three separated from the others.

* * *

After stopping by the dorms the 3 girls walked to the bathrooms arriving just in time to see a girl walk out and look at them.

"If you guys want to use the showers, there's only one available. Just so you know." The girl finished before strolling off. Celeste and Olive stared at each other.

"I call dibs!" Olive yelled, sprinting towards the door.

"Oh nono! I need it!" Celeste chirped, tackling the blue haired girl.

"I called it first!"

"It's mine!" Olive said with a yell, muffled by the blue haired girl who threw her behind herself.

"I stink!" Celeste snapped.

"I stink more!" Olive grabbed Celeste's leg and yanked her away.

"Girls girls, you're both pretty." D'art called out, watching the two of them. Owen was next to him, both had clean clothes and towel in hand as they had decided to follow suit and wash up.

"I know I'm pretty, thank you very much." Celeste snapped. She reached for Olive's shirt while the blonde was making an attempt to teleport. Swiftly, Celeste shoved Olive aside and dashed into the bathroom.

"You can't do that Celeste! You broke dibs!"

"Too late!" Celeste yelled out. Owen sighed and shook his head as he headed into the boys bathroom with D'art trailing behind him. Eve yawned and sat on a bench near the wall, laying back and closing her eyes.

"You'll be punished!" Olive shouted. "I called it first! You broke the rules of dibs!"

"Let me get naked in peace!" A muffled Celeste yelled through the door. There were annoyed grumbles from other girls who were in the bathroom. Olive pouted and sat down next to Eve. Then, a grin spread on her face as a plan formed itself.

* * *

D'art and Owen walked out of the boy's bathroom soon enough to see an upset Celeste sitting on the bench next to a seemingly sleeping Eve. Her face was red with anger as she held nothing but a towel around herself. The two boys flushed slightly and looked away.

"Celeste what are you doing?" D'art questioned out of the corner of her eye.

"Waiting for Olive to give me back my clothes." Celeste stated angrily. She didn't seem to mind or care that she was half naked.

"And why did she take your clothes?" Asked D'art.

"She broke the rule of dibs." Eve muttered without opening her eyes, still half asleep.

"Ah right, that." Owen said with a snort.

"Hey Olive! Hurry up and give me my clothes!" Celeste yelled at the door. There was a pause before there came a reply.

"You broke the rule of dibs! No clothes for you!" Olive called back gleefully.

"I'll come back in there and take them myself!" Celeste threatened.

"So why don't you?" Owen asked calmly.

"Cause she's just gonna teleport if I go in," Celeste muttered.

"Guys, what's going on?" Amelia asked, walking towards them. She glanced at Celeste and blinked, surprised. "Why is everyone yelling? And why is Celeste half naked?"

"Olive stole my clothes." Celeste snapped. "I'll pound her when she get's out!"

"Riiiight. Well that's great and all." D'art began. "But I'm getting hungry, Owen you want to head out for something to eat?"

"Gee, thanks for helping." Celeste muttered. D'art held his hands up.

"What can I say? You broke the rule of dibs."

"I'll punch you." Celeste said flatly.

"That has to be your reply for everything." D'art replied nonchalantly.

"But Celeste," Amelia began, "She probably just put them in your dorm." Celeste stared at Amelia with her mouth open, about to counter her. But after a few moments of thoughtful silence, her mouth abruptly snapped shut.

"Honestly!" Celeste muttered as she readjusted her towel and stomped back to her room.

"But Eve, you want to come?" D'art asked, ignoring them both.

"I'm still waiting for an open shower." Eve said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Girls are slow."

"Says the girl." Owen snorted. "Feel free to use ours, no one is in there." He joked. Eve opened one eye and stared at him.

"I might take you up on that." Before anyone could add anything to the conversation, another girl exited the bathroom. Eve sat up abruptly and was about to stand up, But before she could do so Amelia, who had not been paying attention to the conversation earlier, gave the others a quick wave before disappearing behind the door.

"And there goes another one." Eve said with a sigh before leaning back and closing her eyes.

"You have to seize the opportunity." D'art said. "Leave no mercy."

"Yeah thanks D'art. I'll keep that in mind." Eve said, not noting the sarcasm. D'art nodded and gestured to Owen.

"Let's go." The two boys uttered goodbyes before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

Celeste stormed into her dorm room, shaking with fury when she saw her clothes in a pile on her bed. On her pants, was a small sticky note with the words "Dib Breaker! XP" on it. Muttering to herself, Celeste crumpled the note and threw it over her shoulder in the wastebin.

"Stupid Olive." She muttered. "Stupid, stupid, stupid-" She was about to continue before a soft voice interrupted her.

"Hello? Eve are you here?" Celeste glanced over her shoulder, surprised when she saw Riliane peering into the dorm. The blue haired girl's cheeks flushed when she looked down, realizing that she was still half naked.

"O-Oh. Riliane, hey." Celeste greeted, grabbing her towel and yanking it upwards, despite knowing that Riliane couldn't see her. Hearing her voice, Riliane's eyes flicked towards Celeste and brightened.

"Oh, Celeste!"

"Er-umm." Celeste stuttered. "Were you looking for Eve?" She questioned finally.

"Um, yeah I was thinking she'd be back here by now. But that's okay, it was a minor thing… So what're you up to?" Riliane asked tilting her head to the side "Everyone else was going to eat so I figured you would be with them."

Celeste stared at Riliane and then back at her clothes on the bed. "Um, nothing" she replied quickly, clearing her throat. "Just, cleaning the beds."

"That's… responsible of you." Riliane said slowly.

"Sure." Celeste said hastily in response. The two were silent. Finally, Riliane stepped inside causing Celeste to swallow nervously.

"So, how are things between you and Eve?" Riliane questioned.

"Eve…? They're...okay." Celeste replied.

Unconvinced, Riliane walked closer and sat on the bed across from her "Okay?" Riliane mimicked.

"Okay." Celeste repeated again. She debated silently changing while she talked to Riliane, but ultimately decided against it.

"Why just okay?" Riliane questioned.

"Well," Celeste began, awkwardly sitting on her own bed. "We haven't really talked since the factory." Her towel was still damp, and as she sat, she could feel the water transferring to her sheets. Celeste grimaced.

"Why not?" Riliane asked, unaware of her predicament.

"Because I'm still mad." Celeste said finally. "Because she didn't even tell us about that pink haired girl before, and even now, she won't elaborate on it. "

"Did you ask her about it?" Riliane asked finally.

"No." Celeste admitted sheepishly. "I...I don't know. I just don't feel like...talking."

"Oh." Riliane said softly. "A-Am I bothering you then?" Celeste stared at her, confused before she blinked.

"No, not you Riliane. I always want to talk to you." Celeste muttered, mainly to herself. Riliane, however, caught it and a light pink spread across her cheeks.

"I see…" Another awkward silence filled the air. Finally Celeste cleared her throat and continued.

"So. Riliane."

"Yes?"

"We always talk about me. So why don't we talk about you?"

"Me?" Riliane asked, surprised. Celeste nodded.

"Well…" Riliane said slowly. "There isn't much to talk about. Everyone else seems to have an interesting, tragic, or cool past. But mine is just… normal."

"Normal?" Celeste questioned with doubt in her voice.

"Well I mean… not many things that you would consider exciting ever happened." Riliane clarified. Celeste stared at her before chuckling.

"That's a good thing, There's nothing wrong with having a simple upbringing with loving parents, in fact I would have given a lot for something like that."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely." Celeste said with a nod. "So tell me about your past, I don't know much about it."

"Well…" Riliane said slowly, not having ever given her life story to anyone, "I-I grew up in a really big house in the middle of the country. My parents were really protective of me and I wasn't really allowed to go outside nor into town. But I could have practically anything I want. Dresses, toys, anything like that.

"That's a good start." Celeste said with nod. "What else?"

"It was really lonely." Riliane continued. "I don't have any siblings, and my parents were usually out doing work. So I only had the maids and tutors around, and they were always too scared to play with me, because my parents were so overprotective. So most of the time I only had my toys." Riliane sighed and leaned back. "But whenever my parents were home, I always enjoyed myself. They would read stories to me, and play with me as much as I wanted." Riliane laughed to herself, smiling warmly. Celeste's eyes rested on the blonde, watching her contently as she continued to speak.

"They would always try to help me with things. But I would always refuse and kept trying to do things they said I couldn't do on my own... I got so many bumps and bruises. There was this one time where I got this huge bruise from falling down the stairs." Riliane's lips curved up into a smile. "And then my parents got into a big fight over how slippery the steps were. Which was kind of stupid, since it was carpeted…" Riliane trailed off. "Um sorry, I guess i'm getting kinda off topic."

"I don't mind. Actually, I kind of envy you." Celeste admitted finally, surprising even herself.

"Me? Why?"

"Because I never had that. By the time I was adopted, I could no longer simply enjoy the time I had. I was always on edge, always bitter and annoyed. I was angry at everyone, everything. I still am honestly." Celeste finished quietly.

"You're not angry all the time." Riliane said with a shake of her head. "I mean, you can be stubborn, and hot headed, and a bit crude… B-but you can also be really sweet. After all, you don't pity me just because I'm blind or treat me any differently."

"I wouldn't say that." Celeste murmured. _I think of you very differently than the others._ She thought. "Well you make me less angry." Celeste continued. "So when you are around… I guess i'm not always mad"

"Well that's good then! Because I think you're an amazing person Celeste, so you should too." Riliane said innocently. Celeste flushed profusely and nodded.

"Well... I better get going," Riliane stated "Everyone else is probably wondering where I am"

"Yeah... thanks for the talk." Celeste replied slowly, looking down from embarrassment.

"You should talk to Eve by the way. I don't think you're as mad at her as you think." Riliane added. Celeste was silent, and then she looked up.

"I will." She said with a faint smile. Celeste walked over to the door and waited for Riliane to follow. The blonde stood up, and walked nearly out of the room before she tripped on a spare pair of jeans on the ground. Celeste turned around, just in time to see Riliane fall on her. The two crashed into the ground. Celeste's head smacked against the floor as she cried out. She rubbed her head and frowned, feeling an uncomfortable pressure on her chest. Then she froze. Riliane was on top of her, with a confused look on her face.

"Celeste, what-" The blonde trailed off, her eyes widening. Color flushed into her cheeks as she realized where her hands were. Jumping off Celeste, Riliane fell back onto the floor and stammered. "I-I-I'm s-sorry! I just- I fell and- and I didn't know-"

"YOU'RE FINE!" Celeste said loudly, yanking up her towel more and covering her chest. "N-No Problem!"

"Why aren't you wearing anything?!"

"I'm wearing a towel!"

"Why are you only wearing a towel then?!" Riliane demanded, her face red. "W-Why didn't you say anything!"

"Because! You don't just say, 'Hey by the way, I'm half naked! Thought you should know! Not like it would get awkward or anything!'" Celeste defended loudly shakily standing up. "A-Also who falls like that?! It's so cliche!"

"I can't help it!" Riliane cried out. "I fall sometimes"

"T-Then stop falling!" Celeste yelled back.

"It's not that easy" Riliane shouted back adamantly. The two girls were silent, their faces red. Breathless, Riliane stood up and faced away from Celeste.

"But…I-I'm sorry… I really didn't mean to…"

"It's okay." Celeste said with a sigh. "It's my fault for being half naked, I guess."

Riliane cleared her throat. "But umm...I should probably go for real now."

"Yeah that would probably be for the best." Celeste replied, still rather embarrassed.

"Sorry once again." Riliane added timidly. "Um… bye"

"Hold up," Celeste said quickly. "This," She pointed between them, "Did not happen. This stays between us. And us only." Blushing again Riliane left without a word, prompting Celeste to sigh dejectedly before going to get dressed.

* * *

A few halls down, Riliane was still distracted thinking about her encounter with Celeste when she entered their dorm and was startled as Xanthic spoke up, "Um… Goo-good afternoon…"

"Oh I um, didn't think you'd be back… T-this soon I mean," She quickly added.

"S-sorry… I um… well Nivens uh…" Xanthic trailed off not acknowledging Riliane's nervous state.

Taking a moment to collect herself, Riliane continued "But why can't you just talk to me about things in the first place instead of apologising about it afterwards? We are partners after all."

"Th-that's…" He lowered his head, "Sorry… I just- He says not to w-worry, but… H-how can I n-not!?"

"Worry about what?" Riliane sat across from him remembering how she was swatted away that morning.

"I…" Xanthic sniffled and tried to keep himself together, "I don't wanna be a-alone again…"

"Then why not talk to people? Why do you try and push us away if you want friends?"

"That's… that's not what I s-s-said…"

"What?"

"I don't care if I have a lot of friends or not. I just… I need to have somebody besides Nivens who I know actually cares… An-"

"Do I not count for that?" She interrupted, "I've tried as hard as I can, but you just refuse to open up to anybody."

"Be-because getting at-tached means ge-getting hurt."

"But isn't the risk worth taking?"

"No… It's not… I… I don't wanna lose a-anyone again…"

"What do you- Wh-who did you lose..?" Riliane asked cautiously

"E-everyo-one…" Xanthic began shaking again at the remembrance of his vague and twisting memories.

From the quivering in his voice Riliane assumed he was crying, "Hey… I-it's alright." She tried to figure out what the right thing to say was. Xanthic's mouth opened as if he was saying something, but no sound came out. Off put by the silence Riliane spoke up again, "Xanthic?"

"I think he needs a break," Nivens strained to say.

"Oh um… I-Is he going to be alright?"

"He can still hear you, y'know. And he'll be just fine."

"Are you sure? Because this morning…"

"It won't happen again."

Riliane was going to say something, but she was stopped as door opened and Amelia walked in "Oh, Xanthic is back" she stated with disinterest as she looked around the room "Is Olive not back yet?"

"Weird," Nivens shrugged, "You two usually aren't separated a lot."

"I think that's how partners are supposed to be…" Amelia replied

"I still think you all are overrating this whole team thing, but whatever."

"It's Nivens, right?" Amelia continued

"Oh, so you did tell them then," he said towards Riliane.

"They wouldn't stop pressuring me about it" Riliane stated quietly "...and CODE found out too because Owen read my thoughts…" She added dejectedly.

"Whatever then, that's what I get for telling somebody in the first place, I not too surprised."

"That's a bit-" Amelia was cut off by a giggling Olive that suddenly appeared on her bed.

"I think Cel learned her lesson today~"

"And what might that be?" Nivens was already annoyed by her presence.

"She learned a valuable lesson about dibs."

"Dibs? Isn't that some stupid thing children do to get what they want?"

"Not at all! It is the pivot stone of preventing conflict and preserving friendships!"

"If you say so, just say it quieter please."

"Your head hurts?" Olive asked in a less ecstatic tone.

"Yeah, something like that." Nivens sighed and spoke to Riliane again, "So what did you leave out?"

"Um, it was really just the stuff you told me before we met with team Sandstorm." She told him.

"Oh, how sweet. You do have some respect for my privacy. Though, I don't really mind telling that story when they already know that I exist."

"Are you sure… It was pretty personal…"

"So am I." Nivens spoke nonchalantly about everything, "I guess you could say I'm technically only 13, because Xanthic was born like a normal person. It wasn't until he turned 4 and Lucent croaked that made everything difficult and complicated. Claire went into grieving and basically forgot that she even had a son, but it was also at that time that everyone found out about the faunus labor thing. So what little time Orelon spent away from Claire he was trying to deal with that. Keep in mind Xanthic was also kept a secret from basically everyone till he was 12, because they wanted to protect his privacy or something like that, so let's just say it was really difficult on him. To try and keep himself from going crazy from the loneliness he made himself an imaginary friend, which would be yours truly."

The three girls were silent for a moment and they took in the new information. Riliane was the first to speak again, "You never told me your family used illegal faunus labor."

"I assumed you already knew, most people do. Why else did you think faunus hate me so much when they find out who I am?" He crossed his legs and leaned back, "And in case you're wondering, once she got a hold of herself Claire gave every faunus worker the option to either leave and receive a very generous pension or continue with an increased pay rate as compensation for the time they weren't. But despite that being over 10 years ago nobody wants to let it go." Nivens thought to Xanthic, " _There is one way probably that could get them to all stop, though."_

" _Y-you agreed with me that we wer-weren't going to do that."_

" _Yeah, think about how nice it'd be to not have this constant pain though."_ Nivens didn't get a proper response to that and dropped it. "So, any other questions?"

"Oh! I have one," Olive cheered. "When you fight, do you guys take turns or what?"

"That depends, with 7-Up and usually Goldeneye that's all Xanthic, because I can't keep up with the calculations and our semblance is split."

"What do you mean, split?" Amelia asked.

"Xanthic's a muffler, while I'm an amplifier."

"So then… Your weapon is set up for each of you to use one half for the type of combat you're both better at!?" Olive deduced.

"That's right, I don't have the patience to shoot and Xanthic doesn't have the confidence for close combat."

"Nivens, um…" Amelia began. "Wouldn't it… Well wouldn't it be a lot easier if you just told people about yourself in the first place?"

"Like I told Riliane before, answers lead to questions and there are some questions I don't want to answer."

"Would that include asking why you call your parents by their first name?"

"No, that one's easy; I don't see them as my parents. After all, neither of them even know about me, they just think Xanthic has an issue with talking to himself too much. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if Orelon figured something out beyond that."

"Hold on," Riliane mumbled, "Xanthic said something just a bit ago about losing a lot of people close to him..?"

"He did, didn't he…" Nivens crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "That was probably just him being confused because of the hallucination that pink chick gave him."

Do you mean Yukina?" Amelia asked.

"I don't care what her name is. She pisses me off."

"We never knew you met her."

"Well I did, and I wouldn't mind once more."

"I don't think that's a good idea… She beat D'art _and_ Owen at the same time."

"Then I guess I know how to practice." He sighed, "But whatever, I'm hungry." Nivens got up and switched his jacket, "Do you guys wanna get something?"

* * *

Having decided to follow Riliane's advice and return to where she last saw Eve, Celeste found her fast asleep on the bench outside of the bathrooms. Sitting down next to her, Celeste waited awkwardly for a few minutes before not so lightly tapping Eve to wake her up.

"What was that for?" Eve asked with a frown, not getting up.

"I want to talk to you." Celeste muttered.

"Okay…" Eve said slowly as she sat up. "What is it?" Celeste, who was still looking away, scratched her face.

"Tell me about her." She said finally. "About Yukina." Eve blinked, slightly surprised.

"Yukina…? That's random."

"Yeah."

Eve sat up and bit her lip, "Um. She's interesting."

"And that totally answers all of my questions." Celeste replied sarcastically.

"And, well, we met in training camp."

"Training camp?" Celeste asked.

"That's what we called it." Eve added. "It was where Humanity trained the kidnapped faunus. I call it a camp but it was more of a prison." Eve looked down. "They would take those who had potential and train them there. But if you weren't good enough they would...get rid of you."

"So what happened?"

"I had been there for at least a year already. She was new, I saw her getting bullied, so I helped her." Eve paused and leaned back. "She reminded me a bit of myself. Just angry and… vengeful. She wanted to hurt those that hurt her. Like me. So I took her under my wing and trained her." Celeste nodded slowly and Eve continued.

"We did everything together. She was like a sister to me."

"So how'd she become so...murdery?" Asked Celeste.

"Because I left her." Eve said quickly, as if she couldn't stand saying the words. "Because I abandoned her in that place. And I never bothered to look back." Celeste looked at her in surprise. Eve glanced at her friend.

"You have to understand. I had grown up there for the majority of my childhood, believing that what I was doing was right. That I was fighting for good. And then one day I suddenly found out that it was all a lie. I was unsure what to believe, so I didn't say anything to anyone." Eve looked away, "And then one day there was a huge mission. And I mean huge. Half of the people in Humanity were gone that day. That was my opportunity to escape… so I did."

"You didn't bring Yukina with you?"

"I couldn't." Eve admitted with a pained expression. "I didn't have enough time, I couldn't find her. So I left. I left her to _them_ … and then I tried to erase her from my memory… she must have realized that I abandoned her. And then she probably slowly became corrupted." Eve sighed. "I suppose she was always a little corrupted, just under the surface there was a part of her that wanted to hurt-and only hurt. But it was like she was holding it back. After leaving her I think that part of her ruptured and took hold of her."

"But now she kills members of Humanity?" Celeste asked.

"Apparently," Eve nodded, "She probably found out the truth after I left and couldn't escape for a while. She probably thought I was dead too. It would have been better that way." Eve tugged her blanket over herself so it fell over her face. "I'm a terrible person." Eve said finally. "I was selfish to leave her, and now I'm getting what I deserve."

"Shut up." Celeste snapped. Eve glanced at her, surprised. "There's nothing wrong with looking out with yourself, it's normal. I understand that you would feel bad for leaving her, but that gives you no reason to just accept that you were a terrible person and be done with it. If you want to make amends, you have to fix the problem."

"But I can't-"

"You can!" Celeste replied adamantly. "If she was your friend once, then maybe she can be your friend again."

"I thought you didn't like Yukina." Eve said finally.

"I don't." Celeste said with a snarl. "But if you can get her on our side, that's better than if she roams free killing people."

"Yukina." Eve said softly, looking away. "On our side."

"I don't know if we'll see her again." Celeste admitted. "And I can't say anything for sure. But when she saw you, she didn't look like a psychopath. She just looked...broken... I think she still cares for you." Eve was silent.

"B-But I couldn't care less what you do." Celeste finished, clearing her throat.

"Thanks Celeste." Eve added, her forlorn expression slowly disappearing. "So we're cool now?"

"Yeah, we're cool." Replied Celeste.

"Although, I didn't know you typically cheered people up."

"I don't," Celeste stated quickly, "I'm just doing this cause Riliane told me to earlier."

"Oh just cause of Riliane, huh?"

"Yep."

"I see," Eve said shortly. Celeste fidgeted. A few minutes of silence passed between them. Then, without saying anything, Eve stood up and walked towards the girls bathroom.

"There have to be a few showers open now, so I'm gonna take one. I'll see you later?"

Celeste smiled a little "Yeah."

* * *

With so much cleared up during the day the night felt more peaceful than before as moonlight streamed through the window of the ROXA dorm casting faint shadows on the opposite wall. The three teenage girls were all fast asleep, but their male teammate slowly sat up and searched the room to make sure none of them had woken. He got out of bed and used his semblance to prevent making any noise as he got dressed and opened the window. Crouching in the windowsill he hesitated with a sigh and turned back at his partner, "I'm sorry Riliane." He jumped out, landing in a tree and climbing down to the ground. Xanthic quickly made his way into Vale.

The street lamps lit the city in a greenish glow. Among Xanthic there were only a handful of citizens walking about, though they all kindly ignored each other. With his destination clear in his mind nothing else mattered as he turned a final corner. He stood in front of the pizza place they had almost visited yesterday. Light seeped through the drawn blinds. Xanthic knocked and the door opened to a man with blue eyes set in a glare down at Xanthic making him take a step back. "I still don't believe you two are related."

"Stop frightening the boy and let him in already, Basil," A voice called from inside. The man stepped to the side and closed the door after Xanthic entered. The restaurant smelled heavily of garlic, tomatoes, and bread. Xanthic walked to the only other person in the room, he was sitting with his back to the door in the farthest booth. "I am glad you decided to come," he said as Xanthic sat down across from him.

"I-it's good to see you again father," Xanthic avoided the gaze of his orange eyes.

"I would have prefered meeting elsewhere," Orelon looked around with disdain. "Perhaps you might be able to tell me why we must be here, I only witnessed the aftermath."

"I-" Xanthic's mind went back to his encounter with that strange girl and his whole body shook with fear.

"You what?"

"I don't-"

"You were there, you must know something." He adjusted his dark teal glasses with a gloved hand.

"I-it was a girl, pr-probably 15 a-and she had pi-pink hair…" Xanthic was trying his best not to gag or cry, "I ha-haven't seen so much blood si-since Tenji-jiku Botan…"

"No one there was competent enough to defeat a little girl?" Orelon scoffed in disbelief. "If she continues to be a nuisance then I will have find some way to take care of her."

"Father… um…" The nightmarish vision was still replaying in his head.

"If you have something to say than say it," Xanthic's stammering always irritated Orelon.

"Ri-right… Well," He turned his head downward, "D-do you ever think I was a mistake?"

"A mistake?" Silence fell as Orelon had to think about the question for a while, "No. I have never desired to have a child; however, I understand that it was a necessary burden for Claire." He noticed Xanthic wasn't quite satisfied with that response, "Keep in mind that if I thought you were no more than an annoyance, then I would not be trusting you with something like this." He leaned over the table, "Speaking of which, I called you here because I need to hear your official answer to my request."

Xanthic's shaking slowed and he looked up to meet his father's stern gaze, "Y-you weren't… lying before right? About w-why you're doing… this."

"You should know by now that I would never lie about Claire."

"Th-then it'd… I'd be honored to join The Guardians of Humanity's Crystal."

A smirk appeared on Orelon's face, "Good. Meet Basil here in three days and he'll give you the briefing." His long dark grey coat and dark brown ponytail lifted in the air slightly as he spun quickly on his heel to exit the building.

Xanthic tried to follow him out, but Basil stopped him, "Same time and bring your weapon."

"Y-yes Mr. um..?"

"Winchester."

"I-I'll see you then Mr. Winchester"

"Hopefully you inherited something from your father."

"Ho-hopefully…" Xanthic agreed meekly before being allowed to return to Beacon.


	18. Season 2 Chapter 1

The forest was calm. No birds were chirping, and not a single sound of movement came from the large span of emerald trees that stretched over the golden hills. And then there was something. A single snap of a branch.

A black haired boy sat on top of a tree. His fluffy black tail held perfectly still, as his eyes observed the trees intently, searching for the source of the noise. His eyes snapped to a flash of red. A slender beowolf emerged from the shadows, growling. The boy smirked.

" _Found them._ " After sending the telepathic message to his teammates, the boy stood up and jumped to the next tree, gripping the branch and falling to the ground. The beowolf's head snapped towards him and it's crimson eyes pulsed with hunger. Then it howled. The boy sprinted across the golden field. He didn't need to look behind him to know more than one was chasing him.

* * *

On the other side of the large clearing, his three teammates grabbed their weapons and stood up, alert. "Celeste, D'art, they're here." A raven haired girl said suddenly.

"Yeah thanks Eve, not like we all heard the message or anything." Celeste muttered, rolling up her sleeves. "Still not a fan of this ambushing crap"

"Well I for one am glad that for once we're _trying_ a tactical approach." Eve replied swiftly. "Instead of the usual rushing into a mob of Grimm."

"We could handle it." Celeste huffed.

"Let's go." Said D'art. Instead of heading straight towards the clearing, the three ran through the forest's edge, around the border of the hill. Eve glanced to her left. She could see Owen in the clearing, running away from a large mob of beowolves chasing him down. "Alright, get behind them." D'art said with a grin. The three burst through the treeline.

Owen had stopped running. He was in a battle stance, panting slightly to face the pack of beowolves that were slowly coming closer. Then there was a single howl of pain from the back of the mob. "Finally." Owen huffed. The distraction was a success. Eve, Celeste and D'art spliced through the pack of Beowolves, slicing through their backs and cutting through the crowd. D'art jumped on the back of one, flipping in the air before embedding his tomahawks in the next. With a yell, Celeste drove her blades through the back of a beowolf before yanking them out, dodging a swipe, and slicing another. Eve tossed her chain whip up. Her fingers swiped through the air. The whip immediately dove down, slithering around the legs of around ten Grimm before pulling them together and tightening. D'art and Celeste simultaneously sliced through their necks. Within seconds, ten heads rolled onto the ground.

D'art charged a lightning attack, and shot at Eve's chain whip as she threw it towards the mob. Electricity sparked along the metal, shocking all surrounding Grimm. There was only one beowolf left now. It turned to look at them, a little confused before Celeste calmly strolled up to it and drove her blades through it's two eyes. She kicked it away. The corpse fell onto the ground before disintegrating into the air. Owen stared at them, catching his breath. "Next time…" He panted, "I'm not the bait…" He leaned back and took a deep breath. "One of you three."

"Nice job Owen." D'art said with a grin, patting his friend on the back. "You could be in a marathon."

"Speak…for yourself." Owen huffed, although a slight grin was now on his face.

"That...went pretty great." Celeste said with her lips curled into a slight smile, "Still prefer a head on battle though."

"We can do both." D'art said with a chuckle. "Man I need a bath."

"YOU?!" Owen exclaimed, as he pointed to himself and then the large field he had run through.

"Yeah yeah, okay." D'art said with an uneasy laugh.

"So...can someone carry me…?" Owen asked, clearly milking his role as the bait.

"Oh calm your pants. You didn't run _that_ much." Celeste added.

"I don't think I can make it" Owen said with a overly dramatic sigh. This prompted another response from D'art and the three continued to bicker while they made their way back to the airship with Eve looking on in mild amusement.

* * *

Olive dodged out of the way of a beowolf's slash giving Amelia the opportunity to smash its head in with her stone imbued scarf. "How many are left?" Amelia called out to their leader.

"There's five more on the way after these last two," Riliane informed them.

"So what's the plan, Captain?" Olive teleported next to her.

"Well," she stabbed the grimm in front of her through the chest. "Think you could corral them, Nivens?"

Plazma burst through the last beowolf's chest, "Easy. Where do you want 'em?"

"Just lead them back this way and keep them together."

"Give me a sec then," Nivens darted into the trees and looped around the incoming pack. The girls could hear the metal of his gauntlets snapping and the beowolves howled. Within a few minutes they saw Nivens coming back with the grimm closely following and got into position. Once seeing what the full plan was he passed his teammates hiding spots and jumped up over them, "Cover your ears!" He called out before clapping his hands together and the noise resounded loudly causing the grimm to howl in pain. Before he even landed the girls had begun their attack. Riliane fired off arrows three at a time, Amelia used her dust to create stone spikes beneath them, and Olive was moving so quickly he couldn't even follow her motions as she slashed them.

After just a few seconds the grimm had turned into a large pile of black smoke and the area was silent. "Good job guys," Riliane said.

"Well done indeed," Professor Port was accompanying them and he was a little bit disappointed that ROXA didn't let any get away, so that he'd be able to kill a few. "Well, if that's all settled why don't we head back to Beacon. You can tell your friends of that performance today." He gave a hearty laugh while walking back to the airship.

Careful to speak so that Port couldn't hear her Riliane stepped closer to her partner, "Think you could try to give a bit more notice next time you do that, Nivens?"

"Hm? I didn't think it was that bad." He shrugged, "Guess I could." They continued back to the clearing that they had landed in. Once they had taken off Nivens yawned, "I wonder how Eve's doing."

"Miss Glamis has a very capable team," Port responded. "I'd be surprised if they took much longer in their own elimination mission."

"I know they're all good fighters, I meant emotionally. She was cold to begin with, but ever since," Nivens dug his claws into his arm and winced, "Ever since what happened at that factory she's been distant."

"You're right…" Olive giggled, "You don't usually notice things like that about other people."

"What can I say," His grip relaxed and his aura quickly healed the wound. "There's just something different about that girl."

"Ohoh?" Port playfully punched his shoulder, "Do I smell a young romance brewing?"

"Hmm… Nope, she's too emo even in a good mood. I mean really, what kind of person wears an eyepatch these days." Nivens chuckled at his own comment. As that topic passed Professor Port decided to entertain the students with one of his previous battles, though only Riliane was actually listening to him. Their thoughts all wandered to different places as they watched the scenery slowly become more familiar until they were back at Beacon's airdock. The team began heading back to their dorm, but Riliane stopped when she heard another ship approaching in the distance.

"Is that CODE?" She wondered aloud.

Nivens smirked, "You wanna wait for Celeste?"

"A-and everyone else," She replied with her face turning slightly pink, "but you all can go on ahead if you want."

"Hmm… I don't really have anything better to do, so I'll keep you company. They're about ten minutes out I'd guess."

"I'm probably gonna shower and get back to my history paper," Amelia said.

"Oh, I'm not the only one who didn't finish that," Olive cheered. "We can work on it together then."

"Didn't we choose different topics?"

"Yeah, but Oobleck likes it when people show different opinions on things."

"You do have a point there," Amelia nodded to agree. "We'll see you guys in a bit then."

"Mhm," Nivens waved them off. "Enjoy your shower." Her face turning pink made him chuckle, "You might want to hurry. I can hear more ships coming back."

The two left and Riliane turned roughly to face her partner, "I can't hear any others approaching..?"

"Cause they aren't," He shrugged, "It was just an easy way to make them leave. Though really I don't get why you girls always make such a big deal about showering first."

"That's because you always do it so late, everyone else is already in bed."

"Exactly. There's no line if there isn't anyone else around."

"I guess, but don't you feel gross after a rough training session being all sweaty and tired?"

"If I'm tired then I'll sleep and if it's really that bad I can just towel off."

"Seems like you are just putting it off at that point"

"I think it's just a lot easier that way" Nivens watched the sky and saw the airship slowly grow larger and louder. It landed and the members of CODE piled out along with Professor Peach.

"Man, you guys already finished?" D'art seemed defeated.

"Naturally, you guys spend too much time bickering."

"No we don't," He argued with Nivens.

"Hey there," Celeste said approaching the other leader.

"Welcome back Celeste," Riliane greeted, a smile glowing on her face.

"I take it everything went well?" Celeste asked, moving closer to Riliane.

"Yes. The mission was a success" Sensing the other girl moving closer she nervously took a step back, "H-how was yours?"

"Wasn't done the way I would have wanted, but we did the job." Celeste answered, not seeming to notice the movement.

"Oh, that's good. I was a bit worried when they told you guys that you had to practice ambushing." Riliane stated with a sigh of relief. Realizing her statement could be taken as an insult she quickly tried to clarify, "S-since it's not really something you tend to do… C-cause the way you fight and uh… N-not that that is a bad thing though, it's just that… um..." She stammered with a small blush.

Noticing the blush, Celeste couldn't help but blush herself. " _She's really cute blushing like that. Wait. No. Can't think like that. She's just a friend._ " Looking away to direct herself she caught Owen looking between her and Riliane. " _Did you just?_ " she thought, directing it at him.

" _No I would never listen in on my leaders private thoughts. And I'm hurt that you would think I would do something so devious."_

Celeste scowled at her partner and thought of brutal ways of hurting someone. Seeing Own quickly hurry away, she turned her attention back to Riliane. "So what are going to do now?" Celeste asked, letting the still flustered girl know she had not gone anywhere.

"Well the others went to study and do homework, so I thought I might join them." Riliane answered.

"Oh," Celeste said, sounding hurt. Even the blind girl could tell she was frowning.

"We uh... could maybe go together if you want?"

"Really? That sounds-" She coughed, "I mean I didn't really have any other plans today, so I guess I could stop by."

"Great! Come on then." Riliane held her hand out to lead Celeste back to the ROXA dorm. Nivens followed behind them by about a yard and the other members of CODE went on their own way to the bathrooms.

* * *

"Welcome back Lainey~" Olive greeted them when they entered the room. Amelia had returned as well and a towel was moving on its own to dry her hair as she worked on her paper. Celeste pulled the chair from Nivens' desk over to Riliane's so the two could sit next to each other. The two talked in hushed tones to try and not bother the others, but there was no helping their giggling. Olive didn't seem too bothered, but Amelia couldn't focus and Nivens rolled his eyes before heading down to the gym, claiming that the mission wasn't enough of a challenge. After the five got diner together Celeste went back to her own dorm and they all got ready for bed.

The next day the students were in the middle of turning in their papers when, in the back of the room, Dan complained loudly, "Why do we still have classes when the Vital festival is just around the corner?"

"Well," Dr. Oobleck said mashing his words together by how fast he was speaking. "You seem to have forgotten that those delegated to participate in the festival are the best our academy as to offer, both in combat abilities and scholastic affairs. So if your goal is to participate in the tournament then I would suggest turning your work in on time. Or you might resolve like Mr. Picto and turn it in early."

"Of course he did," Dan crossed his arms and leaned back. "He could easily write about the Faunus War since his family was part of the cause."

"Actually I shared his paper with Professor Port as it was about the initial discoveries of grimm." The class was filled with hushed questions.

Nivens shrugged and seemed bored of the attention already, "It was more interesting than any of the prompts. Besides, I don't think I could read another book on the Faunus War if I wanted to."

"Now, unless you all would like another assignment I'll ask that we get back on task." Nobody wanted to write another paper for the rest of the year, this last one was five pages after all. "Thank you," Oobleck took a sip from his mug and continued. "Now then where were we..? Ah! Of course, the Great War. Surely somebody can tell what the major causes were." He waited patiently until Moonracer raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Darude-Lion?"

"Many people like the poetic explanation that it was because of the conflicting ideals between Kingdoms, but the actual declaration of war was because Mantal wanted resources from Vacuo."

"A unique way of putting it young man, but correct nonetheless." Oobleck continued teaching while asking questions regularly. Most of the students were taking notes, but one of the exceptions was Nivens who didn't have nearly the same drive as Xanthic and couldn't stop himself from dozing off.

* * *

"...ic… ake up!" Riliane finally resorted to shaking her partner awake.

"What..?" Xanthic yawned and rubbed his eyes. He was still in Oobleck's classroom and a few students were just going out the door. Around him was his team and teacher. "H-how did I..?"

"Oh," Nivens took over again. After checking to make sure his hat was still in place he stood up and bowed his head to Oobleck. "Sorry Dr. I didn't realise how tired I was. I'll try not to let it happen again."

"Please do," He bounced on his toes. "And I would like a short report on chapter sixteen to show that you won't fall behind after today."

"Will do." Nivens collected his things and left with the rest of his team.

Once they were in the hall Riliane asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Not wanting any more suspicion drawn to him Nivens forced himself to stay awake through the next class before going to lunch.

In the cafeteria they met up with team CODE and Celeste was in a more sour mood than usual, "It's obviously just because of his weapon. I'm a much better fighter than he is…"

"Did somebody upset you?" Riliane asked cautiously.

"Please don't-" Owen was cut off.

"They chose Cobolt to go to Mistral."

"Who's Cobolt?" Olive asked.

"He's my cousin. Y'know the idiot in our grade that wears a suit 'n tie everywhere."

"Oh, so Violet's brother?" Nivens asked for clarification.

"Yeah, that's the one." She aggressively stabbed her salad causing a tomato to burst and spray her. "I mean honestly, I could beat him if I really tried."

"You must have really been looking forward to the tournament," Riliane said empathetically.

"Of course I was! Are you saying _you_ weren't?"

"Honestly we haven't really talked about it."

"Really?" D'art was surprised. "None of you wanted to go? I thought you two especially loved fighting." He pointed at Olive and Nivens.

"Please don't compare us," Nivens sighed. "I did want to, but I guess we'll just have to wait till our third year."

"It really doesn't erk you at all?" Celeste questioned, adding her friends' apathy to the list of things currently annoying her.

"I guess some of us are more mature than to complain about the little things," He shrugged and avoided the croutons that were thrown at his face. Noticing that Owen was being rather quiet Nivens made eye contact with him and focused, " _You should know by now, that doesn't work on me."_

" _Sorry, I just find it hard to believe that you're not at all upset."_

" _Things will happen as they happen, who am I to try and force something."_

" _See, like those words just don't fit you. They're way too zen."_

" _Sounds like that's a you problem."_

Owen sighed and went back to eating his sandwich. "You know," Olive suddenly spoke up, "If your cousin does win and you beat him, then you could claim to be stronger than the Vital champion without having to actually participate."

"Yeah, but I'd rather actually earn it." Celeste said after thinking.

"Working on academics could also do that," Eve pointed out as she munched on a bite of salad.

"Oh, like you're a straight A student?"

"...I am." The boys all snickered as Celeste became flustered.

"Overachiever." She muttered, stabbing the remains of her salad vigorously. Spurts of it splattered on Eve's cheek before she slowly wiped it off without looking.

"The way you say it makes it sound like an insult." Eve replied, glancing at her friend. "There's nothing wrong with trying your best." Celeste crossed her arms and did a 'harumph' before the two girls shared a half smile and turned back to their food.

"There was something I wanted to discuss with all of you actually." Eve said finally, setting her fork on the table. The table turned towards her, sensing her serious tone.

"But I would like to discuss it in the dorms where it's private." The raven haired girl added quickly. The group of teens stared at each other.

"Eh? I only just started eating this." Celeste said, pointing at her salad.

"It's barely even a salad now." D'art replied as he peered at it gingerly.

"Oh shut it." Celeste muttered.

Nevertheless, the group threw the rest of their food in the trash and headed up to their dorms.

* * *

After reaching CODE's room, they all clambered inside and sat in a makeshift circle around the small living area.

"So what's up?" Olive inquired cheerfully.

"I...wanted to talk about what we're going to do about Humanity." Eve said after a brief pause of hesitation. Nivens, who was sitting across from her froze momentarily before his green eyes flicked towards hers. Riliane sucked in a breath and Amelia stopped fidgeting with her hair. The atmosphere had immediately changed.

"...What about them?" D'art asked, after no one had replied.

"If we're going to keep chasing them." Eve clarified. Although her face was calm, her hands were clenched tightly in her lap. "If you all want to risk that again, after what happened to Xanthic." Niven's jaw twitched, as if he wanted to make a retort, but he remained silent. For several seconds, no one spoke before Amelia cleared her throat.

"I do." Surprised, the others turned towards her.

"Well we can't just let them roam free can we? Not after what they did at the rally, or what they did to Xanthic."

"I agree." Said D'art with a nod.

"I understand that." Replied Eve. "But Humanity is extremely dangerous. Not only because they're powerful but because we barely know anything about them."

"But we have you." Riliane offered quietly. "You told us information we would never have known otherwise."

"...I really don't know that much though." Eve responded ruefully. "And because of my connection with Yukina, I might put you all in even more danger in the future."

"I want to hunt them down." Olive said firmly. "We can't just stand by as they threaten innocent people." Riliane nodded in agreement to Olive's declaration.

"Besides, it's extra practice right?" Celeste said with a grin. "I want to kick their butts, those pompous pricks really tick me off."

"You've only met their grunts…" Owen said with an exasperated sigh.

"So? Their grunts are annoying too."

Owen rolled his eyes before turning towards the others. "I also want to go after them. I can't forgive them for what they've done to my fellow faunus. And especially what they did to you Eve." Eve blinked, mildly surprised before she nodded slowly.

"Nivens…?" Eve inquired, glancing at him. Nivens was silent before he leaned back.

"I'm fine with it, but if rumors spread about me knowing too much about Humanity, well..." He shrugged as his green eyes flicked to each of his teammates before he smirked. "You're all pretty gutsy you know, wanting to take down an entire organization like this."

"It's what we do best." Said Celeste with a grin. "Life isn't fun without guts."

"Yeah, that's not the right way to say that sentence." D'art murmured. Celeste jabbed him in the side without looking at him.

"I can't pretend that I'm not afraid about this..." Riliane stated hesitantly. "Choosing to come to Beacon was the first time I had ever chose to do something that could potentially put my life on the line… But I enrolled to prove myself and to help others. And by getting rid of Humanity I can accomplish both of those things." Celeste glanced at the blonde, her lips curving upwards warmly. "So I'm in," Riliane finished.

"So it's final." Eve replied, releasing a breath she had been holding. "We continue to hunt them down."

"What about you Eve?" D'art questioned, glancing at his partner. "Do you want to hunt them down?" Eve was pensive for a moment.

"I spent quite a bit of time running from Humanity." Eve responded finally. "And up until now I've always thought of them as unbeatable, as this secret organization that was carefully spreading insidious change wherever they went. But after meeting you all, I've learned that they aren't unbeatable. That they can be hurt, and outsmarted." Eve looked up. "I couldn't do this by myself. But with you guys with me I can, and I want to." The others were silent before D'art sniffled and grabbed a tissue from the bed stand.

"My little Eve's growing up." He said with a rather ridiculous sob.

"Don't call me little." Eve replied, her tone a forbidding warning. D'art pretended to blow his nose and Eve sighed.

"I've told you practically everything I know about Humanity." She said, recovering. "So it'll be hard to continue the search."

"Well we better start somewhere then!" Olive sang, standing up and pumping her fist in the air.

"Your boundless energy never ceases to amaze me." Owen admitted. Olive grinned.

"This isn't even half of it." The blonde replied with a vigorous nod of her head.

"It's true, believe me." Amelia said with a groan. The tension seemed to fade from the air as the group of friends continued to joke and bicker through the night. But as it was beginning to get late, the members of ROXA decided to return to their dorm. Nivens turned to the door as his teammates were walking through, "I'll catch up." He looked back at Eve, "I wanted to ask you a few things." He glanced at the other members of CODE who were still there, "Privately, if I may?"

"Oh?" D'art raised an eyebrow and smirked, "About what?"

"Nothing that concerns you," He replied with a level of annoyance.

"Come on," Celeste grabbed both her male teammates by the wrists and pulled them away.

Eve glanced at him, slightly surprised. "What is it?"

"You mentioned her briefly earlier. But, I wanna know more about that old friend of yours."

"...Yukina?" Eve asked.

"Yeah, I think that's what you called her." Eve hesitated briefly before sitting on her bed and sighing.

"What do you want to know?"

"What's her deal?"

"Her deal…? You mean what she wants?"

"Yeah, that I guess. But I'm really more curious about her semblance."

"Ah...that." Eve replied. "Yukina has an incredibly powerful semblance. She makes people live through their greatest fear, almost like an illusion of some sorts. But it feels incredibly real."

"So that's what it was… I'm a little surprised it wasn't…"

"Wait…have you experienced it?" Eve questioned.

"Xanthic ran into her that night." Nivens' hands tightened into fists. "She gave him that hallucination then went on her way like nothing happened." Eve was silent for a little before replying.

"You probably hate her, don't you?"

"I can't say she's on my list of favorites, but I can't figure out why she didn't kill us. Obviously she has the stomach for it."

"Yukina is in a terrible mental state right now. It's not her fault, it's-" Her voice trailed off. "I know it'll be hard for you to understand right now, because she's done some terrible things. But there's still a part of her that's good. And that's why she didn't kill us."

"He said… Oh nevermind, I think I've got it."

"What do you mean he? Oh you mean Xanthic." Nivens nodded.

"She's a faunus, right?"

"Yes. We trained together and used to be quite close." Eve said softly. "I don't know what kind though."

"I'd wager a shark by how she is." Nivens grumbled. A smile tugged on Eve's lips but she merely nodded.

"You never know."

"That's true, I've met an eel faunus before." He shrugged, "Cool guy, but a bit snarky. But him and Pinkie aside, I have another thing I wanna ask you about. What do you know about the leaders of Humanity?"

"Not much to be honest." Eve admitted. "We were trained by their grunts and such. But I know the leader of mine."

"Mind sharing a name?"

"Vincent."

Nivens was silent before responding. "Vincent… And what was he like exactly?"

"He would take us on missions and train the faunus who were kidnapped. Growing up you could say he was something like a father."

"Oh? Sounds like you were fond of him." Nivens replied calmly. Eve's eyes narrowed slightly.

"No. Maybe I did at the start. But now I hate him." Her fists clenched. "He put us through so much pain and he's just roaming free, and no one even knows.." She snarled.

"Don't get any stupid ideas in there," Nivens said while reaching up and knocking on Eve's head. Eve, who was still sitting down on her bed, blinked slowly before raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not stupid enough to take him on by myself. I just...want to put him through the same thing he put us through."

"Hm… I guess you two are a good pair." Eve sucked in a breath.

"No. No that's not what I meant." She clarified before sighing. "I'm not like Yukina. I'm different. I can't stoop to her level, I just think he needs some kind of punishment…"

"Sheesh, no wonder your weapon is a chain." He paused to appreciate her confused expression before explaining, "Well you're just so tightly wound up."

Eve looked down emotionlessly. "I wasn't always like this. There was a time when I was as carefree as the others. But this is just who I am now. I know no one liked me all that much at first, and they still might think I'm indifferent now, but I've been trying." Eve looked up at Nivens. "You know that don't you?"

"I know you're a real party pooper most of the time, but that war cry you had just a bit ago wasn't half bad." He made to leave but stopped at the door, "You keep up an attitude like that and I might forget about the eyepatch." Eve's eye twitched in a sign of minor irritation as he strolled out of the room with his hands folded behind his head.

"I really don't understand him sometimes." Eve muttered to herself. She closed the open door and slowly pulled off her eyepatch, throwing it on the bed. It had been a while since she had taken it off, around several months. She calmly walked up to the handheld mirror on the side of the bed and grabbed it, taking a look at her face. Three long scars ran across her eye and upper cheek, where the eyepatch had previously been. Slowly, her left eye opened and peered back at her. She winced. Memories flashed through her mind, recollections of pain and anguish. The mirror slipped out of her hand and fell onto the floor. "I still can't look at it." Eve whispered. She didn't bother picking the mirror back up as she slid the eyepatch back on and slowly walked out of the dorm.


	19. S2 C2

Classes had ended earlier than usual so ROXA was using the sparing room to practice their team attacks. Olive was about to initiate her half of 7-Up, but as she fired a lightning bolt at one of Xanthic's plasmic plates his scroll rang causing his concentration to falter, the green energy to fizzle out, and the lighting to hit the ceiling. "Xan~" Olive whined. "We almost had it that time!"

"I'm- I'm sorry but I need to ta-take this." The three girls watched Xanthic hop off the stage and answer the call. Riliane could make out his half of the conversation as mostly "Yes sir's" and he also asked about an address and if he had to leave right away. After hanging up he sighed, "S-sorry, I need to go."

"What do you mean?" Riliane asked. "Who was that?"

"It was the manager of Picto Corporation's Vale office. They wanted to meet with me to get my opinion on a possible venture to create more support for the White Fang because they can't get ahold of my parents."

"That sounds like a good idea," Amelia thought out loud. "Why would they have to debate it?"

"Because despite being so heavily involved in politics, we are a business first and need to think about meeting quotas before making charities." He explained while changing his weapons into gun form and storing them in their holsters.

"It's kind of sad when you put it that way…"

"Why are they asking you for help?" Riliane asked, "Not that i'm trying to sound rude but um, I mean as of right now you don't hold a position in the company, do you?"

"No, but as the heir my parents made sure I learned as much as possible as soon as possible. So I have a better understanding of our financials than the branch leaders and I have a better idea of how my mom would react to their ideas."

"I guess that does make sense then…"

"Ye-yeah, umm… Sorry again about this. I'll see you guys later." He left before the conversation could drag on any further.

* * *

A short while later, Xanthic had been walking by himself in Vale until he stopped in front of a fairly unimpressive office building. He was instructed to meet with an informant inside. In order to avoid being seen by any receptionists and having to explain his reasonings for being there he went around to the back, but as he rounded the corner he froze in fear. A young girl with clothes matching her pink hair was standing at the door and turned when she heard him gasp. "Picto?" The familiar voice chilled Xanthic to his very core and he darted off. "Wait!" Yukina chased after him. He ran at full speed past countless buildings and by some miracle was able to avoid hitting anyone. With his semblance he hid his breathing and ducked into an alley hoping to be able to catch his breath. After a short moment of peace Xanthic kneeled on the ground and peeked his head around the corner to see if he was still being followed. With nothing out of the ordinary he gave a sigh of relief and brushed himself off while standing up and turning around to head back towards his original objective. Still looking down he saw a pair of stained white boots with little blue bows on them. He stepped back while moving his head up to look at the very person he was trying to avoid. "Please wait?"

"Wh-what d-do you want!?" He said as he backed all the way up to the wall.

"I just want to talk" Yukina responded holding up her hands in a gesture of peace.

Her gesture did nothing to soothe him, "T-talk..? Ab-bout what?"

"Well I-" before Yukina could finish her stomach let out a loud growl.

Along with the tension of the scene, the tension in his shoulders suddenly released, "D-do you um… want so-something to eat?"

"I uh-" another growl interrupted her. "...I have no money," Yukina finished with a slightly dejected tone.

"A-at all?" She nodded and Xanthic apologised. "I, um, I wouldn't mind b-buying you something…"

Yukina's eyes lit up in an innocent expression seeming entirely different from the girl Xanthic had encountered in the factory. "You would do that?!" She asked excitedly.

"Ye-yeah, it's just one m-meal." Xanthic insisted, "I-it's not really a-a big deal. I um," He looked out the alley and recognised a few buildings, "I thi-think I know a nice pl-place around here."

Yukina nodded, "It can be payback for the factory!"

"Oh, ri-right…" The images of blood from that night and from thirteen years ago returned to the front of his mind causing him to shudder.

"Whatever they had planned for you couldn't have been good… never was for faunus," Yukina said quietly looking away before turning back with a big smile, "But you're free now!"

"Right… Th-thanks…" Xanthic shifted awkwardly and rubbed his arm. "Umm… E-eve told us p-part of what happened, but I-I'm sorry about…" His hand went up towards his hat, "About th-that. W-would you mind me a-asking, um, what w-was it they took?"

Yukina's smile quickly turned into a frown. "You know Eve?" She said as her previously joyful tone turned to ice. After staring at him for a second a look of realization crossed her face, "You're the one they were looking for." A dark laugh followed her statement, "Eve making friends with another faunus… she really has changed." Turning to walk out of the alley she tapped on the side of her head, "To answer your question, they took my horns."

"Um…" Xanthic hesitated as he tried to imagine what type of horns she had. "Eve d-doesn't know, n-none of them do actually…"

"Oh really? And why not?" The girl asked turning back and tilting her head quizzically.

"I-I just… It wasn't i-intentional at first, but th-then I saw how faunus were treated and… I had fi-finally found a warm place to stay, I-I didn't want to lo-lose it."

"Might as well be a part of Humanity with that attitude," Yukina responded with a dark chuckle. "So about that food…"

"Ah, ri-right…" Xanthic lead the way while actively trying to avoid looking down at Yukina. It was a short walk, only lasting about seven minutes. "Th-this is it," Xanthic said stopping in front of a pale stone building with dark wooden accents. Yukina couldn't read the name on it due to the fancy script it was written in, but even she knew what the four golden stars underneath it meant. "Oh, um… you do eat meat, right?" He asked after seeing her unsure expression and realising that the only animals he could think of with horns were herbivores.

Looking away from the sign Yukina responded, "No it's fine, being picky has never really been an option but…" She looked up at the sign again and then down to her pink tinged outfit, "Isn't this one of those fancy expensive restaurants?"

"Huh? Oh… I, uh, guess it is… I n-never really think about th-that kind of stuff anymore…" Before she could protest more Yukina's stomach growled even louder, prompting them to walk in.

A young man in a waiter's uniform greeted them at the door, "Ah, good afternoon Mr. Picto. I'm glad to see you here again." His eyes carefully took in the casual outfits of the two teens in front of him, "Would you like a more secluded seat today?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you." Xanthic and Yukina followed the man towards the back of the restaurant to a booth that could be covered by curtains. As they walked by Yukina noted that the clothes the other customers wore were almost as beautiful as how delicious the food smelled. They were both seated and handed a menu.

"Is there anything I can do for you right away?"

Despite wearing his combat attire, Xanthic was somehow able to blend into the atmosphere perfectly, "I'd just like to have my usual order, please."

"Of course, sir." He never took out a notepad to write anything down. "And you, miss?"

"I um…" Yukina was still trying to decipher the laminated text.

"Feel free to take your time. I'll be back shortly." He took Xanthic's menu before walking away.

Tilting down her menu Yukina looked over at Xanthic, "So you eat at places like this often?" She asked with a hint of both awe and contempt in her voice.

"Yeah, we usually go here when my family comes to Vale." Xanthic said still in a rather relaxed and dignified manner.

"I see…" Yukina responded looking back at the menu, "I take it you and your family are… not exactly hurting for money."

He stared back blankly at her, "You… You don't know my family?"

Returning his blank stare Yukina responded, "Should I?"

"Well… I kinda fi-figured you did since you call me Pi-Picto…"

"And that matters because… … …" She responded tilting her head quizzically once again.

"Be-because the only ones that ref-fer to me like that are people that h-hate my parents."

As Xanthic spoke a look of realization crossed Yukina's face, "Oooh, I guess that does makes sense considering what you thought of…"

The mentioning of the hallucination flooded him with memories again and he covered his mouth. Xanthic looked away from Yukina and spoke just above a whisper, "Ri-right…"

"If it makes you feel any better, others are much worse than yours," Yukina assured him with a faint smile. "Some of the worst are enough to keep one up at night… gods forbid for the ones that let you sleep first though"

"Ca-can't be as bad as having li-lived through it already," He mumbled near inaudible. Xanthic cleared his throat, "Um, a-anyway my name is Xa-Xanthic."

Nodding in acknowledgment Yukina extended her hand over the table. "Yukina Freesis," she replied with a smile. Being taught never to refuse a handshake Xanthic returned her gesture and shuddered as he felt the chill of metal with his fingertips.

"Everything alright over here, sir?" The two looked over to see their waiter had returned already and placed a wicker basket of breadsticks near the center of the table. Xanthic nodded with a forced smile and he filled their glasses with an almost golden liquid from a glass bottle. "Have you decided yet, miss?"

Yukina looked nervously between the waiter and the menu, "I'll just have uh… whatever he ordered." She finally said offering the menu to the waiter.

"Of course," He still didn't write anything down. "It'll be right out." He bowed his head slightly before leaving. After he left Yukina picked up her glass with both hands and after staring at it for a few seconds she took a cautious sip. As she did so one of her sleeves slipped down revealing a red glint from the metal Xanthic had felt earlier.

" _That's blood. You're currently on a date with a murderer."_ Nivens' usual sarcasm didn't falter even though he was feeling a similar sense of fear in addition to his own anger.

"I-I know," Xanthic muttered aloud in response.

"Hmm?" Yukina responded to the muttering while putting down her now partially empty glass.

"Oh, uh, n-nothing. I um… Was just won-wondering about," he activated his semblance around the table. "Wh-what's your a-actual plan for fighting Humanity?"

"Hmmm..." Yukina pondered the question while grabbing a breadstick. "Just follow the list and tear through em one by one I suppose. Eventually I'll reach whoever is responsible for all of this… and make them pay." As she finished her statement Yukina broke the breadstick in half discarding the unwanted end and eating the other.

"You pl-plan to just murder everyone a-s-sociated with Humanity..?" Xanthic was honestly a bit more surprised than scared, that's not to say he wasn't terrified though.

"They deserve it, every single one."

His mind initially went to his father and Mic Jay, which almost made him agree with her sentiment, but he then thought of Basil raising his 7-year old son by himself. "Wh-what if they have a fa-family?"

"I had a family," Yukina stated with her face emotionless. "They didn't seem to care much about that."

"S-sorry… But, um, d-do you really think ki-killing is the best way to go ab-bout it..?"

"It has been so far."

"I just, um…" Xanthic sighed lightly and the faint light around them faded. Yukina's stomach rumbled again when she caught a whiff of their food as it was brought to them.

"I'm terribly sorry for keeping you two waiting." He said and placed both identical plates of food down in front of the two. "Please let me know if there is anything at all that I can do for you two." The man left again.

Staring down at the meat on the plate Yukina only took a few seconds to admire the layout before grabbing her utensils and taking a chunk out of the meal. As she swallowed the first bite her eyes widened and she quickly started ripping and tearing pieces of the meat off, "This- Is- So good!" She managed to get off in between mouthfuls.

"Ye- yeah…" Xanthic was put off by her desperate style of eating and lost his appetite for steak. Instead he moved the meat off of its bed of braised chard and carefully ate the vegetables leaving the honey-ginger glazed carrots for last. After allowing Yukina to take his portion of meat Xanthic waited for her to finish before asking, "S-so you said y-you wanted to talk about so-something?"

"Oh, I uh…" Yukina put down her utensils before continuing and folded her hands together in a fidgeting motion, "I just saw you and you know… I didn't really think of where you went after the factory so… I wanted to just… talk I suppose… not many people I know nowadays..."

"Oh… W-well I just went ba-back to Beacon with my te-team…"

"Back with Eve," Yukina responded bluntly with her previous nervous behavior having completely faded away.

"I g-guess so…" Xanthic avoided her gaze by drinking from his wine stem. "Oh, um…" He looked out and waved over their waiter.

"Yes sir?"

"Might I have a piece of paper and a pencil?"

"Of course," He took a small notepad out from his belt and a pen from his shirt pocket and handed them over.

"Thank you," Xanthic tore out the last page after checking to make sure it was blank and wrote a series of digits on it. He handed the pad and pen back with a thank you and passed the slip to Yukina who looked back and forth between it and Xanthic before putting it in her pocket without a word.

The waiter was slightly confused, but didn't comment on it, "Can I get any dessert for the two of you?"

"Carrot cake please," Xanthic answered without hesitation.

* * *

As they exited the restaurant the sky had started to turn dark, the streets were mostly empty as they walked along with its few inhabitants hurrying home from a long day's work. Watching the street lights flicker on Xanthic turned to Yukina, "Um… Do you w-want me to walk you home?" She looked at him with a fairly confused expression and Xanthic began rambling, "C-cause like even V-vale gets pretty cr-creepy at night. N-not that I do-don't think you can ha-handle yourself, b-but um, it's be-better to not be alo-lone right?"

Staring at him for a few more seconds Yukina quietly responded, "I don't exactly… live here"

"Huh? Y-you must be staying somewhere though, ri-right?" Xanthic asked causing Yukina to shake her head no in response. "Wh-what do you- Oh! You-you're like… I'm s-so sorry…" He turned away from her.

"It's fine I've gotten used to finding places to spend the night." Yukina laughed, "At least I can do it on a full stomach for once." After a pause she continued quietly, "Th-thanks for that again…"

"Ah… d-don't worry about that, re-really…" Xanthic said rubbing the back of his neck. "But um… I-if you want ma-maybe I could pay for a hotel room f-for you. I mean it'd ju-just be for a few days pro-probably and you could pick one you would be co-comfortable with…"

"Really?" Yukina asked with a look of confusion even greater than before on her face, "The food as payback was one thing but… You would do this for someone you don't even know? Even when you know what they do… even when they attacked your friends?"

" _Oo! That is a good question. Why_ _ **are**_ _you so desperately trying to help a serial killer? A serial killer that wants to murder dear old dad and that you almost had a heart attack just from seeing, at that,"_ Nivens taunted.

"I um… Well I c-can't just let somebody sleep i-in the cold…" It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't his whole reasoning either.

Nivens groaned, " _Oh please. Don't try and make pity sound heroic. You know you're only offering because of when we were homeless."_

"Hmmm… you're pretty strange you know that?" Yukina stated with a tilt of her head. "But if you really would do that for me…"

"I- ye-yeah, I know… But um, yeah, th-though I only know the u-upscale places in town…"

"Well it's your money," Yukina said gesturing forward with a flourish. "Do what you want with it."

"Er, right… You wouldn't be um… uncomfortable with that? I, uh, I know a lot of pe-people get kinda intimida-dated by it…"

"I'm sure I'll be fine"

"Oh, al-alright then…" Xanthic looked around again to remember the way from here. "There's one ju-just a few blocks thi-this way."

"Lead the way" Yukina responded with a smile.

"Ri-right…" They walked side by side as Xanthic never let Yukina stand behind him.

After they had walked for a few minutes Xanthic suddenly stopped and looked around. His eyes scanned the buildings around them and the nearby allies. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but he would've sworn he heard something. Looking over he could see Yukina had stopped as well and was curiously staring at him "Something wrong?" she asked.

"You didn't he-hear that?" He asked earnestly, he could never tell when it was only thanks to his rabbit ears that he was able to hear things.

"Hear what?"

"Um… Li-like a clattering I-I guess?" As Xanthic spoke a dark clothed man started to move towards the two with his arm concealing something at his side.

Slowly and carefully closing distance he suddenly leaped forward and wrapped an arm around Yukina's shoulders and pressed the muzzle of his gun into her side. "Drop whatever you've got and stand back."

"Uh, mi-mister I really th-think you should reco-consider that cause well… A-and I really don't carry a lot of lien on me a-anyway," Xanthic panicked with his hands near his face. "So you sh-should really just, um-" Xanthic was interrupted as a spray of blood flew past him accompanying the man's gun clattering to the ground with his arm still attached.

Staring at the space his arm use to be the man backed up in a panic, barely containing his urge to scream. As he moved Yukina turned holding the jagged blades of her weapon to the side letting the red slowly leak off of them. "Leaving so soon?" She asked with a dark smile "You seem to have forgotten something." Finally letting out his screams the man turned and ran causing Yukina to kick the severed limb in his direction before turning to face Xanthic again. As she did the look on her face suddenly vanished upon seeing his expression. Looking between him and her weapon she sheathed the blades and nervously turned away from him in a very poor attempt at hiding the newfound blood on her sleeve. Xanthic's hands were covering his mouth as his eyes revealed his complete horror and disgust at Yukina's display. His memory reminded him of the nightmare and he forced himself to break away from staring at her and instead his gaze landed on the severed arm just a few feet away that was quickly losing its normal color. In utter silence he stepped back from the young girl. Yukina stared back at him for a few seconds, "Um I… h-he was going to…" She quickly gave up her attempted justification and as her face turned to a look of sadness and disappointment she turned and started to slowly walk away.

Xanthic's legs gave out and he crouched down while holding himself, "W-wh-why did I th-think this was a-a good id-dea?" To anyone else on the street he looked insane, but they weren't exactly wrong as a voice did answer him.

" _Who knows, you saw her brutally murder everyone in that factory."_ Nivens pointed out _. "And yet you still decided to go on a date with her."_

"I-it's not like I co-could've really ba-backed out of it after I o-offered…"

" _You very easily could have, you let this happen because she's still just a child."_

"A-a child..?"

* * *

Yukina had almost walked a full block before a loud voice resounded through the street, "Hold on!" She turned to see Xanthic running towards her. He grabbed her arm and lead her down the same alleyway as before, clearly avoiding the now cold arm as much as possible. "Let's see here," he mumbled to himself and looked up at the buildings surrounding them. "Got it." Nivens dragged her along crossing backstreets and alleyways until finally stopping near a small building that looked like it was about ready to collapse on itself. "Here we go," Mocking a gentleman he opened the door and ushered for her to go in first.

The inside was surprisingly bright and clean with a single older man sitting at a small desk, "What do ya want?"

"We ended up running into a bit of trouble a little earlier and this one apparently is kind of a sadist." A hurt expression crossed Yukina's face but she remained silent as Nivens pointed at the fresh stains on Yukina's hoodie. "This is your specialty isn't it?"

"Something like that…" The man beckoned for her to come closer so he could properly inspect the deep discoloration. She hesitantly obeyed and walked up to the desk. He reached out and attempted to touch it causing her to jump back quickly. "Do you want it cleaned or not?" He didn't have any patience for her.

Avoiding the gaze of both the man and Nivens, Yukina quietly responded, "I-I can do it…" she looked around the room before settling her gaze on a hand wash station "I-Is that ok?"

"Still the same fee for materials," He said plainly while looking at Nivens.

"That's fine," Nivens shrugged but started trying to haggle with the shopkeep. As the two argued Nivens clearly wasn't gaining any ground so when he heard the water turn on he turned away to look and froze at the sight. As Yukina was hunched over rubbing on the sleeve of her removed hoodie, her weapons were exposed for all to see. The dust mechanism and rails were attached lining up Yukina's arms, and Nivens couldn't miss the fact that they were stained with deep shades of unnatural brown and black across the length. Trying not to imagine how much and how old what covered them was his eyes were drawn down her arm to the blades that were almost immaculately clean in comparison. He walked a bit closer to Yukina and cleared his throat, "Don't you think you should clean these once in awhile too?" His usual tone faltered slightly.

As she turned to look at him Nivens noticed that she was only attempting to clean the newest stains on the sleeve, and doing a poor job judging by the ever present pink tinge. "They're fine," she responded quietly. "They do the same either way." She then turned back and continued scrubbing the sleeve fruitlessly.

"Don't you care about them though? I mean, they're your weapons."

"They hurt, they maim… they kill." Looking down at one of the weapons and back to her sleeve she continued, "Why should they try to hide their appearance or their nature."

" _They_ don't do anything," Nivens said sternly. " _You're_ the one who made them bloodied."

"Exactly," Yukina responded with a somber tone. "They can't help it… not even if they want to… no matter how much they wish they could stop… they keep on working, watching as their prayers go unanswered. As they drown in the joy they never asked for… they just can't help it…"

"Right…" Nivens folded his hands behind his neck, "You're quite the poet, you know; drawn on, depressing, and always avoiding a direct answer." Waiting for another response he knew he wouldn't receive Nivens looked away from the girl's weapons and found his eyes settled on the familiar sight of the Guardians of Humanity symbol etched with ink in her upper arm, but with two digits placed underneath, 42. "Don't suppose you've got another speech about this thing too?" He asked nodding at it.

"They like to mark what is theirs"

Nivens chuckled and thought to himself, " _Old man's possessive like always."_ He then shrugged and replied casually, "What a bunch of creeps."

"Not all of them were," Yukina stated barely above a whisper as she held up her hoodie and stared at it sadly before putting it back on and heading for the door. Causing the man at the desk to turn and look at Nivens expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah," Nivens sauntered over. "Don't have a stroke." He paid in lien cards that proved Xanthic a liar earlier. "Just saying, you might wanna work on your customer service," He waved goodbye while following Yukina back outside.

* * *

A few minutes of Xanthic leading the way again and they were standing in front of another building, unlike the last this one a was grand design decorated with marble and gold.

"Can I help you two?" A tall mall in an indigo uniform asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I um, I'd like to g-get a room please?" He had never had opposition at the door before.

"I think it'd be best for you to go somewhere else."

Xanthic quickly realised what the issue was and sighed as he pulled out his scroll, "I'd really rather not go somewhere else as my family always stays at this hotel." His ID was brought up on the small screen and the doorman instantly changed.

"Mr. Picto? I'm so sorry for not recognizing you." He bowed his head and opened the door for them.

"Don't worry about it, I know I don't really look the part today." Xanthic said calmly and lead the way through the grand lobby. Walking up to the front desk the clerk recognised him immediately from their previous encounters.

"Good evening, Mr. Picto. Your parents checked in just a few hours ago, would you like me to call their room for you?"

"N-no!" His heart jumped. "I-I mean I wouldn't want t-to bother them. I'm sure they're both quite busy at the moment."

"Very well then, what _can_ I do for you today?"

"I'd just like to get a room for my friend here, however long she'd like. Please just bill me when she checks out."

Nodding in response the clerk typed something into her computer before pulling out a keycard and handing it to Yukina and speaking with a smile, "Your room number is on the card, have a nice stay."

"Thank you, miss," Xanthic said and lead Yukina to the elevator. As the elevator went up Xanthic avoided looking directly at Yukina as she idly stared around the small enclosure with a look of amusement. His problem was solved when the elevator stopped and opened with a loud "ding" letting him exit and head to the numbered room indicated on Yukina's card. After Yukina unlocked the door the two entered the most lavish room she had ever stepped in. A queen sized bed stood against the far wall just next to the french doors leading to a small balcony. Facing a dark blue couch was a large tv. She inspected the full bathroom and found it was decorated just as elegantly as the rest of the building.

"Um… I-if you need a-anything else, you- you can just message me. I- I should g-get going…"

"And what are you going to do?" Yukina asked turning away from the impressive room to face Xanthic.

"Wh-what do you mean? I'm ju-just gonna go b-back to Beacon."

"Good, It's not safe around here… for now."

"Huh? Wha- what do you mean?"

" _She's probably the second most dangerous person in the building,"_ Nivens scoffed.

"No need to worry about it," Yukina responded. "But um, if you see Eve… would you tell her I… that…" abruptly looking down in an attempt to hide the hurt expression on her face she quietly finished with a simple, "Nevermind."

With Nivens telling him to avoid that time bomb, Xanthic rewinded the conversation a bit, "Um… whe-when you say f-for now… wha-what do you mean? You-you're not gonna d-do anything… are you?"

"I said don't worry about it"

"So-sorry, I um…" he shuddered as his mind went back to the man with a newly severed arm. "Pl-ple-please don't do anythi-thing like be-before…" His barely understandable and pleading voice only got a silent stare in response. Xanthic cowered from her gaze, "I me-mean could you, um, ju-just maybe only f-for tonight even, just cou-could you please n-not hurt anyone else..?"

"And why should I do that?"

"You… need a reason t-to **not** kill somebody?"

"Why does it matter to you what I do?" Yukina questioned as a scowl started to form on her face, "I saw the way you looked at me… you know what I am."

Xanthic was backing away from her slowly towards the closed door, "Bu-but… I mean we-well I um, I gu-guess it's really n-not my business to tell you wha-what to do, b-but um, don't you… d-don't you ever wa-wanna be I… I d-don't know… No-norma-mal?"

In response the expression on her face once again slowly started changing into a look of sadness, "You just don't understand…" Yukina stated quietly.

"Well… I-if you mean losing people you care about a-and not having any idea what t-to do, bec-cause there's nothing you can do, th-then I understand a l-lot better than you'd think…"

Yukina shook her head, "The problem isn't that I didn't know what to do… the problem is I knew exactly what I wanted to do and there was only so long I could help not doing it."

"What… I-I don't understand…"

"Of course you don't, you still think I want to be doing this… you think I want to enjoy it… you think I can help it."

"N-no, of cour-course not! I just… I don't u-understand at all… Whe-when I first saw, um, th-that… it's just… disgu-gusting…" His hand raised over his mouth.

Yukina smiled weakly, "And that's exactly how it should be… As long as it is you know you aren't a monster."

Xanthic took a deep breath and forced himself to step closer to Yukina. Careful to avoid her blades he took one of her hands in his own and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it only showed his own regret. "Well, your hands are warm, so you're still less of a monster than someone else I know…"

After a few seconds of silence Yukina pulled her hand away. "...thanks…" she mumbled quietly before turning to look at the clock near the bed, "You should go."

"Ah, ri-right… S-sorry if I was be-being weird…" He quickly took the chance to retreat, "Go-good night, Yukina."

"Good night," she responded closing the door as he walked out.

Once he heard the click of the door Xanthic doubled his speed. " _Oo, how are you gonna explain this one to the old man if you already missed him?"_

"I-I'll make it in time," Xanthic tried to believe his own words as he headed to his original destination, the office building across town, that was the cause of this eventful day.

* * *

Having had only slowed down while crossing the hotel's lobby Xanthic leaned against the multistoried building and breathed heavily. He looked up and saw that the stars were beginning to shine. The sound of a door signalled that he had barely been fast enough before his contact had left for home. "Ah, s-sir?"

The older man turned and looked down at Xanthic, "What is it?"

"I um," his breath still wasn't fully caught up with him. "I'm new with the- with the Guardians I was su-supposed to meet with you earlier about some documents."

"Weren't you supposed to be here around five?"

"S-sorry about that, something important came up…" Xanthic bowed his head apologetically. "I-is there any chance you have the files on you now?"

"Yeah, I didn't trust to leave them in the office." He was about to hand a small binder over to Xanthic but hesitated, "You understand how important these are, right kid?"

"Yes sir." The two had started parting ways after the documents traded owners but Xanthic suddenly grabbed his sleeve, "S-sir, um… I-I think somebody knows about you, so pl-please be careful."

"I always have been," he said and continued on his journey home. Xanthic sighed and returned to Beacon Academy, he would review the file tonight before passing them on to Basil the next day.

* * *

The following morning Xanthic woke as usual before everyone. By the time he came back from getting dressed all three girls were up. Gathering his things, he avoided looking directly at any of them and said, "I'll be back in about an hour or so, I just have a few things I need to finish from yesterday." Not caring about their responses he left the room before they could say anything.

He made record time to Basil's shop in avoid being seen by anybody, Xanthic went around the back and knocked on the door. Basil opened the it a moment later and took off the dirty apron tied around his waist. Staring down at the young student he leaned against the door to close it. "What happened yesterday?" He asked holding his hand out to take the files from Xanthic.

"We-well something really imp-portant came up suddenly and I ne-needed to take care of it…" He mumbled an apology while giving Basil the small binder.

Basil sighed, "At least you got these before whoever it was got him."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"He's dead. They found his body shredded at about three." Basil tapped his shoulder with the binder, "I don't know how you managed to survive that night, but if you're assisting them in any way then I wouldn't count on your father hesitating."

"You-you're pr-probably right about that, sir…" Xanthic meekly cleared his throat, "I-is there anything else I can do, Mr. Winchester?"

"Be prepared for something big to happen soon."

"Li-like what?"

Basil shrugged, "Orelon hasn't told me what he's planning yet. But he's personally overseeing it." He put his apron back on, "You should get back to Beacon, I've heard Glynda has only gotten worse over the years."

Xanthic knew better by now not to ask for him to explain his past further and bowed his head, "I'll wait for your next order then. Go-goodbye." He turned and left quickly, hearing the shop door slam shut behind him. Stopping a short ways away he looked back and sighed before continuing on to the academy.


	20. S2 C3

_**(AN Feb/1/2018: Good morning or good evening to all, we would just like to clarify a bit about this chapter a little as it is somewhat different than the others. This week we have created an early Valentine's Day chapter! There are four short stories with varying levels of romance in them and the events transpiring within are indeed canon. Thank you for following our story.)**_

The Ambassador

The morning sun peeked over Beacon, illuminating the cafeteria and hallways in an orange glow. Students hurried to grab lunch, some moving as quickly as possible to be able to get to their upcoming classes in time. Owen and D'art sat in the cafeteria, scarfing down food like there was no tomorrow. They both went there early, gathering as much as possible. D'art finally gasped for air, setting his orange juice down. "You know, with everything going on, it's nice to have some time to breathe and relax and catch up, you know?"

As the two were eating the clicking sound of heavy boots came from the hall until abruptly stopping in the cafeteria followed shortly by Professor Goodwitch shouting "D'artagnan Montaigne!" The students parted the way to D'art whispering and laughing quietly to themselves.

As she walked closer D'art tried to think of everything he had done wrong until she stopped in front of him. "Ozpin and I would like to talk to you." She said not seeming as angry as he expected. D'art followed her out the cafeteria, the room returning to the normal morning hustle and bustle.

"Eh, more for me." Owen said, returning to the feast.

* * *

The doors opened to Ozpin's office, the sheer scale stunning D'art. 'Every time I see it it just gets bigger.' He thought, standing in front of both Glynda and Ozpin. "Mr. Montaigne. Nice to see you again."

D'art forced out a 'Bonjour', taking a seat. His foot tapped incessantly, a nervous expression covering his face.

"Don't worry. You're not here on school business." Glynda said, raising her glasses. D'art stopped for a moment, confused. "As you know, political meetings involving The Ridge of any kind can't be held without a representative and a Guardsman present." D'art nodded, still confused. "As we couldn't reach Aramais, Athos, or Porthos, we had to summon you.

D'art let out a sigh. "Ooh. Then who's the Ambassador going to be?" Just then the doors swung open again, a pair of heels clicking across the glass floor of Ozpin's office. D'art turned to see a woman walk towards the 3 of them in a business suit, red hair flowing across the black cloth.

"Bonjour, Monsieur et Madame. I am Cerise De Silva. It is so nice to meet you both." Cerise turned to the flabbergasted D'art, blowing him a kiss and wink. Glynda rolled her eyes, starting the conversation. They talked for hours about trade, hunting seasons, Humanity, even about what color the new uniforms for the Milita should be. D'art just nodded along trying his best to pay attention by glancing between Ozpin and Cerise, but failing miserably. He hadn't seen her in so long, it was almost like seeing her for the first time. D'art got called back to the conversation at full attention.

"So, if that's all, I believe we are concluded. Please give Dumas my best."

Cerise bowed, looking at D'art then back to Ozpin, "Actually sir. One more thing for me to ask. Could I perhaps take D'art out of school for the day? Dumas has a message for him in regards to Ridge affairs."

Ozpin and Glynda looked at each other, then back at D'art. "Sure. Just make sure he makes it to curfew." Cerise nodded, motioning for D'art to come along. D'art sat still, star struck by Cerise. Cerise groaned, dragging D'art out of the office and bowing goodbye.

As they left the school, D'art broke his stunned silence along with a hug. "It's so good to see you Cerise."

"You too." Cerise replied

D'art took another look at Cerise's get up. "So, this is unlike you. Dumas put you up in this monkey suit and have you fly down here?"

Cerise rolled her eyes back at D'art "It just so happens that I am one of the new foreign ambassadors to Vale, idiot. So you'll be seeing me around town a little more. So how's school coming, battery boy?" After giving Cerise a slight slug in the arm, he proceeded to fill Cerise on everything going on, primarily about Humanity. "Wow. Sounds rough. How are you holding up?"

D'art shrugged, looking around. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to take time to talk about you and home. I need to take my mind off everything going on here. How's Aramais and all them doing?"

Cerise thought to herself, then stared back at D'art. "How about we meet up for dinner and catch up?" D'art nodded, writing a reminder in his phone. "Oh," Cerise added, "Try to dress a little nicer."

D'art looked at his slightly dirty uniform and worn shoes. "Ah I don't know. This seems pretty formal to me." Cerise chuckled, walking away.

* * *

The restaurant was lively with violins and small talk, bouncing off the walls of wine and kitchen space. D'art took his seat. He whistled at the size of everything, the ceiling was higher than he'd like to ever be in life, adorned with a large crystal chandelier. Suddenly Cerise came in, taking a seat across from D'art. She wore a red dress, glowing among the black and white of the other patrons.

"Monsieur Montaigne." She exaggerated, laughing afterwards. The two ordered, then began to reminisce.

"...but you always get that part wrong. It was 3 Beowulf packs, not 2." D'art said, downing another gulp of his water.

Cerise rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course. 3 that chased you up the tree."

D'art wagged his finger. "Hey, that's a tactical retreat. Nothing wrong with that."

Cerise smiled then brought out a case to the table. "I know you didn't want to talk to much business while we were out, but I do need to say a few things on behalf of Dumas." He nodded, folding his napkin in his lap. "First, Humanity. We know about them. And we're taking...precautions."

D'art stopped fiddling with his napkin. "What precautions?"

Cerise pulled her hair back behind her ear, looking to D'art. "Athos and Porthos routed out a den of Humanity supporters. Just some small disgruntled fils de chiennes. But it made Dumas worried. Scared in fact. The Ridge can't survive another revolution or civil war D'art. Not as long as we want to have our autonomy."

D'art pointed his fork at Cerise. "I still don't understand what you're asking."

Cerise sighed, pointing at her various files. "If you have the opportunity to stop Humanity, take the shot. No mercy. Dumas orders." D'art's head ran cold with thoughts of what that meant. Cerise saw this and reached for his hand. "Hey, it's alright. No need to worry about that now! We're out tonight. Relax."

D'art called a waiter, ordering food. "Don't worry," He said as the waiter left, "Me and my partner, Eve, can handle it."

Cerise looked slightly miffed. "Oh you're still working with her?"

D'art gave a sly chuckle. "What? Jealous?" D'art almost laughed loud enough to rock the building.

Cerise blushed, shunning the very idea. "No, i-it's not that. I'm just curious who you hang out with, is all! Yeah that's it." Cerise eyes peaked up. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "Somebody in La Crete built a statue for you. Crazy huh? Wrote down 'Storm of the Forest' for the description. Cheesy."

D'art smiled, finally being able to talk about home again was a comfort. "Well, does it at least look like me?"

"If I'm honest? Not at all."

"Does it look better?"

"Well it's at least an upgrade from the original."

"Ha ha."

The two ate dinner, Cerise ordering steak and D'art having a venison cut with shrimp on the side. "I have no idea how you can eat so much." Cerise said, eyeing D'arts full plate.

He shrugged. "Hey, I've got a diet to keep up. Remember when I first tried cooking?"

Cerise gave a laugh. "Yep. And you burned down half your house trying to make Galettes de saumon?"

D'art hesitated, then sighed. "Yeah, I remember. But man did it feel awesome to catch those fish. And then accidentally burn my house. And have Athos freeze it." D'art went back to eating, gobbling up his shrimp. "Besides, the food at school isn't half bad, but I miss the cooking at home. All the spices, fish...I could spend hours talking about it." Cerise wiped her mouth, asking for the check before D'art could. "Want to walk around for a bit after?" D'art asked, gesturing to the door. Cerise nodded shyly, smiling.

* * *

D'art lead Cerise to the top of a hill, overlooking Beacon, and as much of Vale as the eye could see. "Alright. Now why did you bring me up here? You going to kill me and inherit the De Silva fur empire?" She joked, looking over the city lights.

D'art pulled out a black box from his pocket, opening it to show a necklace with a fleur de lis made of black diamonds. "I...wanted to give you this before I left but I couldn't find a good time."

Cerise stood shocked, completely speechless at the glistening stones . She carefully turned it to the underside of the gems, a small inscription read 'Je t'aime à travers tout'. "Here, let me," D'art held his hand out. He reached around her neck and fastened the clasp.

Cerise cried a little, then hugged D'art deeply. She gave him a kiss, the night lights reflecting off the necklace. "But..." she said, wiping away some tears, "I didn't get you anything."

D'art shrugged it off. "It's fine. I owe you anyways for putting up with my merde day in and day out. Besides having you is a gift of itself."

Cerise blushed deeply, then pulled the huntsman into a kiss. "I think you can be a little late tonight, mon ami. I'll tell Ozpin we were...strategizing. Just come and sit with me and the stars." Making their way over to a nearby bench, Cerise gazed up at the shimmering stars; however, D'art couldn't take his eyes off the even more stunning woman next to him.

Study Hall

Xanthic sat at his desk engrossing himself in his work, so much so that Olive's humming became white noise and he ignored his scroll's buzz. At least he tried to ignore his scroll, but a minute later it buzzed twice more and piqued his interest as to who was so determined to talk to him. His head cocked in confusion as he saw the three messages were from Moonracer.

" _I don't see you…"_

" _Where are you?"_

" _Xanthic?"_

He continued looking at the screen trying to figure out where he was supposed to be. Fortunately for him another message appeared.

" _It was today that we agreed to study together, right?"_

The library. Xanthic instantly remembered and scrambled to get his things together while texting back an apology.

" _I'm so sorry! I completely forgot."_

" _Oh, want to just do it some other time then?"_

" _No, I'm on my way now. I'll be there soon."_

Xanthic held his hat and bag tightly as he ran as fast as he could to the main building's grand library. He was panting as he opened the doors and joined Moonracer at one of the closer tables, "I'm- I'm really sorry… I was tr-trying to catch up on… my economics…"

"Economics?" Beacon didn't offer an economic class. "Oh, for your family?" Xanthic nodded and his breathing began returning to normal. "Must be rough having to live up to expectations like yours."

"Yeah… Sometimes I wish I had siblings like you or Olive, maybe my mom wouldn't be so… insistent and protective then."

Moonracer chuckled, "Only if you were the younger sibling, the oldest always has the most expectations," He spoke from experience. "I know it's not easy being the youngest either, though. Besides having a sibling doesn't mean you have a replacement."

"I guess you're right…"

"I like to think I usually am."

"Just… Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if I had a normal family…" Xanthic said so softly that if it wasn't for his lion ears Moonracer never would have heard it. "So um… Where did you wanna start?"

Looking over the books he had brought with him Moonracer pulled one out of the stack, "How about this? We have a test in two weeks."

"Alright," Xanthic found the matching book about dust in his bag.

* * *

Up in the SDTM dorm Dan and Simba were arguing about attack names while Tigre was napping in his bed. He woke up when the scroll in his pocket buzzed. After staring at the screen for a minute he jumped off of the bunk bed, startling his brothers. "Mornin' T," Dan greeted him with no response.

"Hey T, settle something for us. What do you think sounds-" Simba cut himself off as Tigre was already opening the door to leave. "Where're you goin'?"

"Library," He said plainly and continued walking.

"Think Moony called him down?"

Dan chuckled, "Maybe him and Xanthic can't reach the top shelf."

"He's barely shorter than you," Simba argued while laughing with his brother.

"And you're barely older than me."

"Three whole minutes," He said proudly.

* * *

"You got here faster than I expected," Moonracer greeted Tigre when he entered the library and walked him to the table. They both stood over Xanthic's unconscious body, he had suddenly fallen asleep while they were talking and went face first into the open book. "I called Riliane. She said it's happened before and asked me to just bring him back to their dorm, but we both know I can't carry him that far," He explained. Tigre nodded, put Xanthic's book away, slung the bag over his shoulder and carefully picked up the sleeping boy bridal style. Neither of the brothers really cared about the confused looks they got while crossing the campus to ROXA's dorm. Moonracer knocked on the door and smiled at Riliane, but his gaze obviously moved towards Amelia, who shied away from him. With a shrug he spoke to Riliane, "I believe somebody here ordered a teammate?"

"Thanks for bringing him back," Riliane moved out of the way. "Would you mind just putting him on his bed?" She pointed at the one bed that was perfectly made. Tigre did as told and kneeled to carefully lay Xanthic down, but he remained on the floor and watched him breathing calmly.

Moonracer took notice of his brother's tail, it was straight up and twitching occasionally. His heart skipped in slight panic and coughed loudly, "We should probably get going, who knows what kind of stupidity Dan and Simba will get up to without us." His brother's voice seemed to snap Tigre out of whatever trance he was in and his tail dropped to its normal position as he stood up and left.

Back at their own dorm Tigre climbed up to his bed and held his pillow to his chest while sitting with his legs over the edge. "Thanks…"

"What are siblings for, right?" Moonracer shrugged it off, "Besides it would have caused a lot of problems for me too if you had done something."

"What happened?" Simba asked with concern, it wasn't often that Tigre needed to be bailed out on something.

Moonracer shook his head, "Fortunately nothing."

"He's just too cute," Tigre complained as he fell over onto his side and hugged the pillow tighter.

Dan groaned and rolled his eyes, "You're still hung up on him? Why don't you go after somebody actually in your league?"

Simba chuckled, "Like somebody who can actually tell him the time of day, without stuttering?"

"Exactly! And you know, for not being into girls at all, you sure picked a really feminine guy."

"That's true, I think the only person who's shorter than him is Celeste. And with how much he talks about his mother you'd think he has a complex of some sort."

"We probably shouldn't even start on his attitude…"

"Agreed. Oh! With your usual silent treatment Owen'd probably be a good match for you, T."

"That'd have about the same likelihood of happening as if I got with Riliane," Moonracer pointed out.

"Yeah, I didn't really think he swung that way…" Simba shrugged. But suddenly got another idea, "Wait, Moony! Do you know if it's even possible for T and Xan to be a thing?"  
"I'm honestly not sure about him, he acts the same way around everyone. I do think I've seen him trying to flirt with Eve a few times though, so probably not, unless he's like you two."

A Cupcake For Two

Eve closed her eyes and let out a sigh as she walked into the heart of downtown Vale. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had gone somewhere completely by herself. She stretched, content. There was no bickering, no drama, no pranks, no yelling. Just quiet. She stopped near a bakery and took in a waft of freshly baked cupcakes.

"Good afternoon, Miss." A short, plump baker poked above a counter and looked up at her with a warm smile. "Would you like a cupcake?"

"Oh…um..." Eve looked back at the cupcakes. One caught her eye, with bubblegum pink frosting and pastel blue swirling on the top. It reminded her of someone. "Sure. Can I take that one please?" She pointed at the one she had observed earlier.

"Of course." The baker took it out and set it on the counter. Eve grabbed her wallet and slid a few lien across the table. "Would you like it in a container?" He asked. Eve nodded and he gently placed it in a transparent one before handing it to her. "Have a nice day." He said cheerfully before disappearing behind the counter once more.

"...You too." Eve said quietly as she peered at it. It really was strange. Something about it just looked familiar. With a shrug she walked off.

Eve continued to walk through the city, looking for a nice, quaint place to savour her cupcake in peace before she felt a shiver go up her back. She continued to walk forward and her eye slowly slid to her left. She saw her reflection in a shop window as she strolled past it. Her eye scanned her surroundings behind her, widening when she saw a flash of pink. _Yukina._ There was no doubt, she knew her presence well and there was no mistaking it. But why now? Eve's eye lowered and she continued to walk forward, as if nothing had happened. Still, she had probably been following her for a while. Eve silently cursed herself for losing her instincts. She took a swift left down into a narrow street.

* * *

Yukina frowned slightly as she saw Eve slip through a street. Her movements had stiffened slightly, "Did she know? Had she seen me? What should I do?" Yukina wondered to herself, debating whether to continue. "A little longer wouldn't hurt, right? She doesn't even know I'm in the city. Unless Xanthic told her, would he do that?" Realizing she was falling behind, Yukina quickly crossed the street, timidly dodging passerbyers. By the time she reached the entrance of the street, Eve was gone. Yukina peered in and then hurried inside, looking left and right. She was about to give up before she saw a small pink cupcake sitting on the ground. Confused, she picked it up and peered at it innocently. This was the cupcake that Eve had bought. Yukina looked around one more time before holding it close to her chest and walking back out into the street.

Rainy Day

It was a nice day it seemed. A bit windy, but it was warm enough for a walk around Beacon. "I'm gonna head out," Riliane said to no one in particular knowing her teammates were somewhere in the room.

Leaning out from his bed Xanthic responded, "Oh, you want me to come with you its-"

"No, I'm good," Riliane interrupted, quickly leaving the room before he could protest further.

"-go-going to rain," Xanthic finished quietly as the girl was already gone.

Riliane quickly walked through the halls. It had taken her a while to fully memorize them, it didn't cause her too much trouble though, even if she did get lost a few times. After a few turns she had arrived outside and started walking towards a spot she had discovered the other day, it had benches and a nice garden. A perfect place to spend the seemingly lovely day.

* * *

The rain started quickly and unexpectedly. Blown in by the wind the light sprinkle was fast turning into a downpour. Riliane tried to make her way back, but the raindrops pounded the ground like bullets sending her semblance into overdrive lighting up anything and everything with spastic pulses. Not being able to keep it up she deactivated her semblance stopping abruptly as she did so and frantically turned in circles trying to figure out where to go. Suddenly a voice rang out from amidst the downpour, "What the hell are you doing?!" Riliane recognized the voice immediately, Celeste. As she turned and reached towards the voice a vest was suddenly thrown on top of her shielding her from the rain. "You're gonna get sick if you just stand out in this" Celeste quickly said grabbing Riliane's hand and pulling her along the way to the inside.

*earlier*

Celeste was walking back to her room from the cafeteria. She had barely made it inside before the storm started. As she walked she idly looked through the windows until movement in the downpour caught her eye. Someone was out there. Walking closer to the window to get a better look Celeste started to muse out loud, "What idiot would go out in-" She cut herself off abruptly as the person came into view, Riliane. Celeste froze as she saw the look of fear as the girl stumbled along trying to find the way inside. Then without a second thought, she ran to the nearest exit and out into the storm.

*present*

Once inside the two stood in silence for a few seconds, the sound of the rain and the walls and dripping water the only noise. Riliane quietly removed the vest that was on top of her and handed it to the other girl. "Th-thanks," she quietly mumbled.

"Are you alright?" Celeste asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah..." Riliane quietly responded, sniffling and wiping away tears indistinguishable from rainwater.

"Do uh... do you want me to walk you back to-" Celeste started to say before Riliane interrupted.

"N-no that's fine," she said turning quickly. "B-bye," she sputtered along with a weak wave as she activated her semblance and made her way back to her dorm. Later that night all she could think about was Celeste saving her, and what she would have done without her.

* * *

The following day the storm had subsided into a light drizzle. With classes canceled due to power outages from the prior day's storm, Riliane walked the hallway towards the cafeteria. As the rain pattered against the windows lighting the way for her, she realized that there was someone following her. Making a few wrong turns to confirm her suspicion she ended up at one of the exits of the building. Stopping in front of the door she waited as the figure stopped as well keeping its distance. She called out without turning, "Do you need something?"

The figured stiffened as she did, and then walked closer responding in the unmistakable voice of Celeste, "Just happened to be heading the same way, you aren't going outside again are you?"

Riliane turned facing the general direction of Celeste and responded, "And if I am?"

Celeste fidgeted uncomfortably and with a blush that Riliane couldn't perceive responded, "Just uh... try to be more careful"

Riliane walked closer to Celeste, "I can handle myself, I was fine."

"It didn't look that way to me..." Celeste responded thinking of the look on the other girl's face the previous day, "...It looked like you wanted help is all." After some silence Riliane turned and opened the door walking outside gesturing for Celeste to follow as she walked into the rain. Once outside, Riliane's semblance lit up the world. The noise was a lot but it was manageable, lighting up the world in the closest thing to sight she could have. Celeste followed her into the rain, and as the raindrops bounced off and around her it lit the girl up with the clearest view Riliane had ever been able to perceive. Taking in the sight of the girl she had developed a crush on for as long as she could, Riliane thought of the stories her mom used to read her when she was little. Tales of knights rescuing princesses and other heroic deeds. With one last look at Celeste Riliane walked back inside, Celeste stood confused for a second and then shrugged walking after her asking, "So uh... You heading to the cafeteria?"

Riliane stopped and turned to her deactivating her semblance and holding out her hand as she did, "Yeah, you mind walking me there?" Celeste blushed and responded with a quiet "sure" taking Riliane's hand and starting the walk to the cafeteria. Celeste may not exactly be one of the knight from those stories... but she was close enough.


	21. S2 C4

Xanthic used his semblance to assure his silence as he changed and snuck out again. He was completely oblivious to the fact that his lack of noise made the still awake Olive more concerned. When she had asked him previously about his persisting habit of leaving at night Xanthic explained that it was Nivens going out to practice in the Emerald Forest. Which may be true for when her and Amelia noticed him sneaking out before, but this was clearly different. Nivens is stubborn and cocky, but even if he was the one awake he would know better than to exhaust himself like that. And she doubted Xanthic was going out to kill grimm. So she took the chance on this windy night to wait until he left to get up and follow after him. With her semblance she was able to easily close the distance between them and the weather covered the trace of her semblance. Knowing that Xanthic seemed to have sensitive hearing like Riliane she made certain to follow her espionage training exactly; Mask up, stay low, breathing slow and steady, and always have a plan A through G. The two blonds went down the cliffside; Xanthic used his gauntlets to maintain a grip as he slid, while Olive waited for him to be just out of sight before teleporting down in segments.

When they got into Vale she used the rooftops to follow him. And quickly recognized his destination, though she didn't want to believe it. She watched as he knocked on the door to the restaurant they had been attacked at. The wooden door was opened and Xanthic bowed his head as he entered. Olive teleported to the ground and took the risk to open one of the windows, glad that they were curtained on the inside. Pressing herself up against the wall, naturally being mindful of her shadow she listened carefully.

"...As good as I've been told?" That voice was definitely the man that had attacked them. What was his name again?

"Yes sir."

"Then take care of this. The muts started being more careful."

"Mr. Winchester… Thi-this is Atlesion…"

"It is. That a problem?"

"N-no, of course not sir."

"Then get started." Olive could make out footsteps coming closer and shifted around the corner of the building. "Hold it," The man ordered Xanthic and lowered his voice so that she could really only understand through context. "Did you let yourself be followed?"

"Wha- N-no- I… I don't think so…" There was a pause, "I wasn't followed, sir."

"I must have missed it then…" He closed the window and Olive went back to the rooftop.

She continued to trail Xanthic until he was just on the edge of the Emerald Forest and teleported just in front of him, causing him to stumble back in surprise. "What was that about?" Olive demanded in a harsh tone.

"I- wh-what are you do-doing here!? You'll- _I'll_ be in s-so much troub-ble… He'll, oh gods… I-I don't wanna kn-know what he'll do…" He looked up and pleaded with Olive, "Ple-please, can you… Just please f-forget you saw anything tonight I- I can't let any-" Xanthic was silenced as Olive grabbed his collar choking him a little.

"You expect me to just let something like _that_ slide?" She was pissed. Nobody had even seen her upset before. "What are you doing working with Humanity?"

"I-I can explain! Ju-just please don't… don't tell anybody."

"No, I'm not going to keep a secret like this for you, good reason or not." Olive let go of him, "If you're telling anyone, then you're telling everyone."

"I ca-can't that's t-too many. They won't-"

"Either you explain yourself or I tell everyone what I heard."

Xanthic swallowed hard and stared at Olive's red eyes, he was amazed at how harsh they were now compared to her usual cheery expression. It was almost as if she was a different person entirely, but he knew better than that. "Um, a-al-alright the-then…"

She lowered her bandana to be around her neck again and turned her back on Xanthic, "Let's hurry up."

"C-could we ma-maybe wait until after classes tomorrow?"

"Fine." They went back in complete silence and had a few hours of sleep before needing to get up again.

* * *

Owen yawned awake and stretched his arms. Or at least he tried to, one of them wasn't responding. He sighed and sat up, noticing only his natural eye was working. The fingers of his robotic arm twitched. Each twitch was larger until his hand formed a fist. He flexed his hand and twisted his wrist until the motions seemed normal. Within this time his prosthetic eye had adjusted its focus and he could clearly make out his teammates. Eve was retying her ribbon for probably the fifth time, her thoughts had been almost completely occupied by her old friend since they saw each other. D'art was stretching as he usually did in the morning and Celeste was clinging on to her last available minutes of sleep. Owen hoisted himself out of bed and got dressed for class.

He really didn't understand why his teammates protested against Beacon's uniform. It took Celeste a week before she finally submitted to wearing the skirt, but her and D'art still didn't button their jackets.

Once they were all ready, team CODE went down to the cafeteria for breakfast. ROXA was already there, waiting for them. It was a perfectly normal day. Both teams had the same class and walked together. Their leaders walking a few paces ahead, completely enamored in their own conversation.

Later in the day the teachers got more difficult to listen to and Owen let his mind wander into his classmates'. One in particular had been looking at him occasionally. " _I still can't believe they let some sort of Frankenstein into Beacon."_

" _Considering Frankenstein was the brilliant scientist that created life from a bunch of corpses,"_ Owen responded to her, " _I'll take that as a compliment."_ The girl jumped in her seat and looked at him with a blush of both embarrassment and anger.

"Is there a problem, miss?" Professor Port asked.

"Ah, n-no. Sorry…" She sat back down. " _That smart alec jerk! Of course a faunus would be the one to-"_ Owen would have said something to her again, but she stopped herself. " _No, I'm not like those monsters…"_ He wasn't sure what to think then. Was she calling faunus monsters? Or was she referring to Humanity? Were their violent plans backfiring on them?

Owen didn't hear most of what his teachers had said after that. Him and D'art were on their way to meet back up with the girls after their last class, Sparring. Olive met them halfway across the locker room though. "Hey there~" She greeted both of them.

"Hey," Owen replied.

"'Sup Olive?" D'art asked.

"Hm, a lot actually." She hummed happily, "Think you two could come to our dorm with Cel and Eve in a bit?"

"Sure, why?"

"We have something we need to talk about." Owen tried to peak at the surprize, but Olive had been expecting him to do so and was already thinking about her family as a distraction.

D'art sighed, "More Humanity stuff I'm guessing. Yeah, Eve'll probably want to hear it."

* * *

Olive reunited with her team and they waited in their dorm for CODE to arrive. When they were all there Celeste asked, "So what's so important you couldn't just say it during lunch."

"I'm curious too," Riliane began, "Why did you wait to-"

"You little…" Owen growled. He connected with everyone and repeated the same confession that he had heard. They all stared at Xanthic, except for Olive who watched from the door. Eve stepped back in disbelief.

Xanthic pleaded, "Pl-please let me expl-plain. It's n-not what you all think."

"Of course it's not." Riliane moved closer in Owen's direction, "Do you really think Xanthic would be a part of Humanity?"

"He's not denying it," Owen argued.

"Think about it, why would they kidnap somebody who was already a member?"

He didn't accept that, "Then why is he blocking me out?"

"We-well I wouldn't want to have somebody rummaging through my head when I have something important to say either."

Owen knew Riliane was forcing herself to try and have faith in her partner for having yet another secret and took a deep breath. He crossed his arms and stepped back, "Get on with this announcement then."

"Th-thank you…" Xanthic managed. "I um… W-well that day they to-took me was when I j-joined," He purposefully avoided looking up to see how many of his classmates were glaring. "Bu-but I ma-made a deal with O-Ozpin to try and he-help fight them…"

"And why should we believe that?" Celeste demanded. "You've had no problem lying to us before."

"Well I um…"

"Is that why you were asking me those questions the other day?" Eve's usual calm expression was replaced by a glower. She was at her limit and didn't let Riliane stop her from getting closer to Xanthic. "Did you want to know if I was a threat? If you could learn any sort of weakness to fight Yukina?"

"N-no I just-"

"And being a new member is even worse, because you know full well what they've done to me. What they've done to other faunus. And you can just stand there and let them do it!?"

"I-"

"If that's how you really feel then how can you even stand pretending to be friends with faunus like Simba and Moonracer!?"

"I-it's difficult…"

"I'll bet it is! Having to hide the kind of hate Humanity has. But I suppose you're just that great of a liar!" She spat her accusations at him.

"I don't hate anyone!" He suddenly raised his voice silencing her. "I-I'm actually really je-jealous of Owen and the guys on Sandst-storm…"

"Jealous?" Eve questioned with a sarcastic laugh. She took a step forward and her hands turned into fists. "You joined a terrorist group because you're-" She was cut off as Xanthic used his semblance to make sure she wouldn't interrupt or speak over him.

"I di-didn't really join Humanity," He explained. "I cou-couldn't… I…" Unable to find the right words he took his hat off and the room fell completely silent save a few gasps. Eve's expression hardened and she looked away.

"If that's the case," D'art was thinking about what Cerise had told him, "Then why didn't you just tell us to begin with?"

"Be-because-"

"He didn't want people to know he was adopted," Olive deduced.

"I keep forgetting that you're actually smart," Nivens sighed.

"Pardon me," Riliane spoke up. "But I get the feeling everyone's had some sort of big revelation here."

"He's a faunus," Amelia whispered to her.

"W-What!? But how? He doesn't have any extra bone structures like Owen."

"He has floppy ears like a rabbit," She clarified.

"So that's why he always wears hats?" Riliane thought for a moment, "But adopted… Then when Xanthic said that he had lost everyone…"

"Yeah, one morning thirteen years ago Xanthic woke up to see everybody he had ever known was torn apart by the Grimm." Nivens explained, "That was the day I was born. We worked together to survive in the wild until finding a small town with an orphanage. But they refused to take faunus children, luckily our hair was long and messy back then so nobody could tell. We were there for about a year or two before turning seven and getting adopted by Claire."

"Why would she adopt though?" Celeste asked. "Typically family businesses make a big deal about the family part."

"I'm not sure about the exact reasoning, but Claire said something about not being able to have kids. So they thought it was some sort of miracle to find Xanthic, since he looked so much like her. They took him back to Keshiki and raised him like their own."

"So they made you hide your faunus trait?" Owen asked for clarification.

"No, she was actually ecstatic to find out. Xanthic was the one who refused because Claire wanted to use him as a sort of marketing tool, like, 'look how much we care about faunus, we took in an orphan.' He was the one that decided to fight through the pain and try to live as a human rather than let himself be used like that." Nivens leaned back against the short bookcase. " _Nivens_ is actually our original surname, I took it as an attempt to remember the village I think."

"If you really aren't with Humanity," Eve began, relieved that he had explained himself, "Then why were you asking me what I knew?"

"That's because I was honestly curious about your sadistic ex."

"Sadistic?" Eve interrupted.

"Hm? Yeah, I guess she has some serious abandonment issues."

"She's just misguided. Not everything is just black and white like that."

"Misguided?" Nivens snickered, "That's a bit of an understatement, but whatever." Eve frowned at this but said nothing in reply. Nivens continued, "I also needed to know if you were a threat to my cover, but since you don't actually know anybody important, other than Vincent at least, but he's supposed to be one of the most trusted, so there's nothing for us to worry about."

"Do you know who's in charge?" She questioned with a thin line between her shock and anger.

"Naturally," Nivens shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "He was the one who recruited us after all."

"And you didn't tell us!?"

"Of course not. What would you do if I had?" He leaned forward and waved his hand nonchalantly, "You all would have concocted some sort of grandiose plan to take him down with the power of friendship, or whatever. When that failed my cover would have been blown and I wouldn't be all to surprised if he killed me."

"So then who _is_ he?"

"He didn't tell me his name. And before you ask; he was wearing a cloak, so I can't describe him to you either. But it doesn't matter, you guys shouldn't interfere anyway."

"C'mon, whoever he is, the eight of us can take him." Celeste insisted while punching her hand.

Nivens laughed at her, "Oh please, I wouldn't be surprised if he could take down Basil and Mic Jay at the same time."

"I'm guessing those two are supposed to be impressive?"

"They were the ones who kidnaped Xanthic and as it turns out Basil is actually a graduate of Beacon."

"That musician isn't one to laugh at either," Olive pointed out.

"Only in combat. He's a complete joke any other way." He leaned back again after shrugging, "Anyway, even if you don't do anything hasty, but still plan something and get caught, then _we're_ the ones in trouble." Nivens pointed at himself.

"This probably sounds like a stupid question," D'art began.

"It probably is then."

He ignored the interruption, "How can you be so calm about this?"  
"Hm? Is there a reason I should be freaking out? We've hardly raised any suspicion, the only way to ruin that would be if you all decide to ignore me. Plus by being a direct route of information I can send copies to both Ozpin and Ghira Belladonna so they can act how they see fit. Honestly the only difficult part is that we're awake almost 24/7 so the strain on our body builds up."

"That explains why you haven't been volunteering to spar like before," Olive thought aloud.

"And falling asleep in class," Amelia added. "Are you sure you're okay if you're really that sleep deprived?"

"Yeah, mentally we're both perfectly fine, it's just physically."

"But then…"

"It's fine," Nivens insisted. "We're tired, not exhausted. You'd be surprised what a good nap can fix."

"Pardon me, but what about La Crête?" D'art asked, hiding his shaking arm. "I mean, aren't the other kingdoms being affected too?"

"Naturally. Mistral had an attack, similar to the one that hospitalized Dan, about a month ago. With Atlas it seems like they're trying to be more political; though, I kinda doubt Ironwood will budge an inch."

"What about my home?"

"I'm not sure what their plans are for your oversized village."

"O- _Oversized village_!?" D'art repeated with stress affecting his usually relaxed temperament. "We're an officially recognized nation."

"Sheesh, sorry, chill out. Nothing wrong with being a village anyways."

"Pourquoi ne prenez-vous pas cela au sérieux!?" D'art resorted to his native language.

Nivens eyed him down and responded fluently, "Qui a dit que je ne suis pas?"

The shock of a response calmed him down enough to think clearly, "Do you know if there are Humanity soldiers in The Ridge?"

"Of course there are. La Crête was the first, after Vacuo, to get proper laws surrounding equal rights for faunus. It's only natural they station people there to make sure they don't get in the way. Besides, if they _were_ able to get The Ridge on their side that'd be a huge victory." D'art clearly wasn't put at ease by that. "If you're worried by a sudden attack, then don't be. Basil doesn't do anything unnecessary and knows I have contact to a guardsman. I'd be the first to know if something is going to happen."

"I want to believe you," He said quietly. "But there's always something more with you."

"I wish I could say you're wrong, but I can at least promise you this; we have one more secret left and I'm almost certain you people will figure it out within a year or maybe two."

"If we're gonna find out anyway, then why can't you just tell us?" Celeste asked.

"What's the fun in that? You all seem to enjoy tearing down the walls we've painstakingly built over the years."

"Why," Riliane quietly questioned in a hurt tone having been silent since the faunus revelation, "Do you still not trust us after everything we've done together?"

"Should I?"

"Of course you should!" Riliane unexpectedly shouted back, "That's what teammates do!"

Nivens paused and stared at his partner. He sighed after recovering from his initial shock, "I still don't understand why you're so insistent on that team junk." Wincing in pain he held his head. Owen was able to listen to his internal dialogue, " _What're you complaining about? I thought we agreed on that."_

" _You don't have to say it like that though."_

" _Why not? She hasn't listened to when I said it before."_

" _But she's just been trying to be nice."_

" _Fine,"_ Nivens sighed, " _It was your idea in the first place though."_

"I um… Sorry," Xanthic muttered with his head bowed.

"No!" Riliane exclaimed, "You don't get to keep apologizing for him and expecting us to forget everything!"

"I…" He was focusing on trying to prevent Owen from getting anything more. "I-it's not that I d-don't trust you, I just… I'm t-too afraid… I-I can't…" The only answer he got was the continued angry attempt at a glare from Riliane and the quiet murmurs from the rest of the group who had never seen Riliane get this worked up over anything. "Pl-please I…" He looked up and flinched at her gaze. Retreating from her, he looked back down at the floor, "Please d-don't make me say it… I can't… Please, I can't… He'll-" Xanthic completely silenced himself as his leg shook furiously and he held himself.

"Um, Riliane," Amelia stepped forward, "I really don't think this is the right time. Whatever it is, I don't think he _can_ tell us right now." She lowered her voice, but not enough that Xanthic couldn't still hear, "He looks almost as bad as when we saved him from the factory."

Riliane thought about it for a few seconds and then sat down on her bed with a quiet "fine." She had not intended to upset Xanthic as he was not the one she was mad at.

With her no longer pressuring him Xanthic was able to calm himself down. As expected the first noise they heard him make again was a meek apology. "Um… I-if it helps you guys to trust me ag-g-ain then I can maybe s-share everything from Hu-Humanity with you t-too..?"

"Like what?" Celeste asked with disbelief.

"We-well um…" He looked around, "Oh," Xanthic pulled a small white chip with the Atlesian emblem out from his pant pocket. "I'm s-supposed to decode this. I… I can tell you guys what's on it."

"Then do it."

"Wha- n-now?"

"Why not?"

"I um- well… I-I guess…" Xanthic went to his desk and connected the device to his large scroll. A wall of text filled his screen and everyone watched as he went through it muttering to himself as he rewrote everything unencrypted. When he finished he read over it and did his job of informing Basil.

He then handed the device over to Celeste who read it outloud, "At 13 hundred hours meet with representatives from Le Crête and Vacuo at, wherever these coordinates are, to discuss faunus regulation and the issue of GoHC." She handed his scroll back, "What's GoHC?"

"I-it's the acronym for Humanity's fu-full name." Xanthic's scroll vibrated as he received a message, "Th-they're gonna in-t-terfere somhow…"

"Then we have work to do," Celeste cracked her knuckles.

"What? Nono, you can't-"

"We agreed to take them down."

"Exactly," Eve said, "And I don't want to run away from them anymore."

"But if Ba-Basil is there and recognizes you, th-then he'll know what I did…"

"Cerise is gonna be at that meeting," D'art added, "There's no way I'm not going."

"B-but I'll!-" Xanthic pleaded.

" _Give it up,"_ Nivens was clearly agitated. " _They're not listening to you anymore."_

"I…" His leg shook harder and he looked down while trying to think of possible excuses to make so he wouldn't get in trouble.


	22. S2 C5

Eve, Celeste, and D'art sprinted through the trees, following the two members of Humanity. The forest was dense. It covered the ground in shadows, shifting in the slight breeze. They jumped over a long log and whipped past branches, breathless, until they finally reached a small clearing. A loud snap echoed throughout the trees. Eve, D'art, and Celeste stood back to back, panting as they observed the dense woods around them.

"Did they continue running?" D'art asked, taking a few deep breaths.

"No," Eve replied. Her hand tightened on her whip, "They're here." The three desperately scanned through their surroundings, searching for shadows, movement, anything. Celeste cracked her neck and lowered into a fighting position, her fists in front of her. D'art charged his tomahawks with electricity and Eve unraveled the remains of her chain, letting it fall to the ground. There was silence. Softly, one could hear the melodic chirping of a bird nearby, unaware of the chaos about to transpire. Suddenly, they felt a faint rumble beneath their feet.

"Move!" D'art yelled. The three broke apart in separate directions as a spear of rock split the ground, emerging from it like a pillar. A woman burst out of the treeline. Her hands brushed the ground before she made a sweeping gesture towards them. Dozens of earth shards formed from her fingertips like bullets. They spun like drills before honing on the three. With a grunt, Eve threw her chain into the air and brought it down onto the rain of shards, demolishing a few of them before she whipped it again, destroying the rest. D'art and Celeste sprinted past her. Celeste dodged a kick before slashing at her opponent who grabbed her arm and flipped her onto the ground. The woman quickly formed two swords made from rock and countered a strike from D'art. Electricity surged through his weapon, instantaneously shocking her and forcing her to stumble back. She looked down in surprise as a chain wiped around her foot, yanking her to the ground.

But before Eve could reel her in, a man ran in front of them. A large wave of fire burst from his weapon. Eve, Celeste, and D'art all cried out as flames licked the ground around them. The trees began to burn as branches fell to the ground. Taking the opportunity of surprise, the woman yanked her foot away and fell back, disappearing into the flames.

"Regroup!" Celeste shouted. D'art and Eve obliged.

"He has a flamethrower?" D'art snapped, irritated as he wiped sweat off his forehead. "Really!?"

"These two were at the faunus rally." Celeste snapped as her eyes scanned her surroundings. The clearing was now almost completely engulfed in flames, and their opponents couldn't be seen.

"The one guy has a flamethrower and the woman can use her surroundings to fight."

"Well I'm glad I missed this." D'art muttered.

"We should get out of here." Celeste muttered. She covered her mouth with her sleeve. "The whole forest is going to burn down at this rate."

"I recognize them." Eve whispered. Her teammates glanced at her. "From Humanity." She clarified quickly. "His name was Damon."

"So you do remember?" The three froze as they heard an unfamiliar voice. They looked around them, but all they could see were flames. "That was years ago I'm surprised." Suddenly, the fire extinguished, almost immediately, as if a bucket of water had suddenly been poured onto it. With the flames gone, the three could see clearly. They stiffened as they saw the man standing merely a few feet in front of them, smiling. His outstretched hand slowly closed, making the last of the flames flicker and die.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away there. I forgot this was a _stealth_ mission." He said slowly. His eyes slid to Eve's whose were wide with recognition. "Yes I remember you. You were the girl who walked around like she owned the place. I remember you and your friend…Yukina was it?" Eve froze. "I can clearly recall the day you two made me look like a fool." He snarled. "But things are different now. Those years you spent sniveling like a child after running away, are years that I've used to grow stronger. And now I can finally have the vengeance I-" He was cut off as Celeste made an attempt to slash him. But before she could do so, he grabbed her arm and looked at her as she struggled to break free."How rude. Cutting a person off as they're speaking. Have you no manners?"

"Shut the _hell_ up." Celeste snarled. She grabbed his arm and lifted herself up before kicking him in the chest with both of her feet, sending him stumbling backwards. "Don't talk to Eve like that." Celeste hissed as she recovered. "I don't care what kind of _history_ you two share but you can take that vengeance you're talking about and shove it up your-"

"Celeste!" D'art yelled. "Don't get carried away. It's a diversion, the other girl is gone." Celeste's eyes widened. He was right. The woman was gone. Eve seemed to realize the situation and blinked several times. The man chuckled.

"Reina is long gone by now," He said as he grabbed his flamethrower off of his back and aimed it at them. "As for you three-" He was cut off once again as his eyes went wide. His weapon fell from his hands and landed onto the ground with a thud. Celeste, Eve, and D'art watched him, confused as he began to tremble. Slowly, he placed his hands over his ears and began to scream. The three froze, appalled as his screams increased in volume and terror until he was huddled on the ground, trembling.

"MAKE IT STOP!" He begged, his eyes bulging out of his sockets. He reached for them, shaking uncontrollably as his hand desperately clawing the air. D'art took a few steps back.

"What's going on?" Celeste demanded, panicked. Eve looked at the man, her eyes widening. Then she moved her gaze to her friends.

"It's...Yuki-" Before she could finish, a pink haired girl emerged from the underbrush, her blue eyes locked with the man's as she observed him with a pitiless expression. "-na…" Eve finished softly. Celeste immediately froze upon seeing her. Yukina looked away from the man and towards the others present, her eyes sliding to Eve's before staying there. As she did the man writhed on the ground silently.

"Guys, we have to go before Reina disappears completely." D'art said quickly, he glanced at the prone man and then at his friends. Eve was silent.

"Eve!" D'art shook his friend. The raven haired girl broke out of her trance and looked away.

Yukina stared at Eve for a few more seconds before turning and forcibly stomping on the arm of the man, driving it into the dirt. A sickening crack rang out through the clearing. The man continued to writhe in pain. No one could tell if it was from Yukina's semblance or his broken arm.

"Let's go. Now." D'art hissed, on edge.

"We can't leave," Eve whispered. "She'll kill him if we do." The man seemed to have come to his senses and was trying to crawl away.

Hearing Eve speak Yukina turned, "So now you care what happens to them?" She questioned, "When did that change?" Eve swallowed. Celeste stepped between the two with a determined expression.

"Go," She said. "I'll make sure she doesn't kill him." Yukina turned away in disinterest and started walking after the man.

"But Celeste-" Eve was cut off as Celeste glared at her.

"Hurry up and go before I make you."

"Celeste is right, let's go." D'art grabbed Eve's arm and yanked her backwards. Eve took one last glance at Yukina before turning around and following D'art into the forest.

* * *

The partners sprinted through the woods, ducking past branches and jumping over logs. They followed the unreliable path of broken sticks and twigs, hoping to find the other faunus who had run away a mere few minutes ago. D'art glanced at Eve. She was pasty, as pale as a ghost, with bags under her eyes and chapped lips. She looked like she was in pain.

"She'll be fine," D'art reassured, panting. "Celeste has always been a strong fighter." Eve was silent. She merely continued to sprint. "Don't you believe in her?" D'art questioned. Eve looked away.

"I do. It's just-" She broke off suddenly and stopped in her tracks. D'art also stopped, nearly tripping over a log before glancing back at his partner.

"What's wrong?" Eve's blue eye was locked on something past him. Her lips parted. D'art followed her gaze and froze. The faunus woman lay on the ground, still. Her white face was almost completely buried into the ground. But they could see one soulless, black eye that peered at them eerily from underneath the strands of her purple hair. D'art stifled a gasp. The shoulder of the dress she wore was ripped open, revealing the unmistakable tattoo of Humanity printed on her shoulder. Blood stained the leaves around her, making them a deep crimson. It was almost beautiful. If one could ignore the body in the middle of it. Her hand was a claw, buried in the leaves, as if she was reaching out for something. Or someone.

"Wha-what happened to her?" D'art stammered. Eve took a few steps towards the corpse.

"Yukina. She must have reached her while we were talking to Damon." Eve gingerly knelt beside her. "There's a claw mark on her back. I'm guessing we got rid of most of her aura during our fight, allowing Yukina to instantly kill her after she ran. She probably didn't even know what hit her." Eve's fingers hesitated before gently brushing aside her purple hair and closing her open eye.

"Well at least she didn't get too far," D'art whispered. "But still, this is awful." Eve stayed silent. D'art looked away from the body, feeling sick to the stomach. "That girl, Yukina. She kills so...viciously. Like an animal. I don't understand it. How could you be friends with her?" Eve didn't reply. Silence filled the air. And then, they heard the gentle, innocent chirping of a bird. It flew down from its tree and landed a few feet away from them, hopping a little. It sang so happily, unaware of the blood, the horror in front of it. Eve's eye lingered on it before flicking down to the woman.

"You know, I didn't hate her." Eve said finally.

"Wait what?"

"This woman." Eve said, still looking at the corpse. "I didn't hate her."

"What are you talking about?" D'art questioned.

"I remember her from Humanity as well. I only spoke to her once but she was nice to me. Or at least, nicer than most of the people there. We sat at the same table when we ate, back then. We wouldn't say anything. We'd just eat. Everyday. Without exchanging a word. And then one day, she dropped her spoon and I picked it up for her. And then she thanked me." Eve smiled a little. "That was it. That's the only thing she ever said to me. And a few days later she stopped sitting at my table and I never saw her again." D'art walked over to his partner and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Eve looked up at him and then smiled a little. He could see the trace of sadness in her eye. "Kind of sad, isn't it? That I would remember such a pointless exchange."

"I think it's nice," D'art admitted. "Sometimes it's the small things that count." The two exchanged another smile before they heard an ear splitting scream. With a panicked squawk, the bird that was resting on the branch flew away hurriedly. Eve abruptly stood up, the warmth leaving her eye as it was replaced with panic. D'art spun around. "Celeste," He whispered.

 **Fifteen Minutes Earlier**

Owen, Olive, Riliane and Amelia dashed through the forest, chasing after the two shadows in front of them. A branch harmlessly scratched Owen's cheek as he activated his semblance. With the open telepathic gate, Riliane issued orders.

" _Olive, cut them off. If you teleport in front of them you can give us enough time to catch up."_

" _Got it,"_ Olive nodded and stopped running. She watched her teammates continue through the forest and took a deep breath before releasing it. Her eyes flicked up to the sky and narrowed in concentration.

The other three continued to sprint forward. Riliane nearly tripped over another log before Amelia gripped her arm and yanked her forward. Even with the pounding footsteps, it was difficult for the blonde to properly navigate the forest. She grabbed three arrows from her quiver before placing them on her bow.

" _Amelia, you and Owen will execute a pincer attack and hit them from the sides while Olive distracts them. I'll back you all up."_

" _Alright."_

" _Will do."_

Olive teleported into the air. She grabbed a tree branch with her free hand and swung off before diving towards the members of Humanity below her. One looked up, his eyes widening before he barely blocked her attack by holding up his spear with both hands. Olive's wakizashi clashed into his weapon as Olive landed on top of him, sword in front of her. She placed her feet on the spear and executed a backflip, instantaneously teleporting behind them and moving to strike. But before she could do so, a short woman appeared in front of her and kicked her in the chest, sending Olive flying backwards into a tree. The woman quickly pulled out a katana and snarled at her before Amelia burst through the treeline.

The scarf around her neck wrapped around the woman's ankle, throwing her onto the ground like a toy. Owen sprinted out across from them, spear in hand, as he kicked the man's side and slashed at his arm. The two of members of Humanity barely had time to recover before arrows flew through the air. The man dodged them but the woman was not so lucky. An arrow stabbed her arm making her cry out. She yanked it out and threw it onto the ground, breaking it in half as the wound healed itself. The man straightened up and looked at them calmly.

"Well, well, well," He tightened the tie he wore, placing the butt of his spear in the ground. "For a team of teenagers you're all quite coordinated. And yet, I didn't hear a single word spoken between any of you. So how'd you do all that, hm?" The woman next to him seemed to frown slightly. Her amber eyes narrowed. His question was left unanswered as Owen, Olive, Amelia, and Riliane took battle positions around their opponents, their faces filled with seriousness. The man's bright green eyes flicked between all of them before resting on Owen who swallowed nervously. Then his eyes slid to his wolf tail, "A faunus I see." Owen's grip tightened on his glaive.

"What about it?"

"And a fellow polearm wielder," He added thoughtfully.

Olive took the time to carefully observe the two members-something she hadn't had time for before. The man was tall and unarguably handsome. He had sharp cheekbones and black hair that acted as a stark contrast for his piercing green eyes. He wore a military-esque getup with several gold pins that gleamed on his chest next to his black tie. The spear in his hand was beautiful. A decorative silver snake spiraled around the long handle with a large neon green blade stemming from it's open mouth. She could see it's long silver fangs even from where she was standing. The man's bright green eyes slid to hers and narrowed. The woman beside her was quite short but exceedingly beautiful as well. She had short black hair that curled slightly and a pale face that made her red lips stand out even more. Her amber eyes were shadowed by long, black lashes that brushed her cheeks when she blinked. She wore a elegant green kimono that was cut above her thighs, tied by a violet ribbon that hung beside her legs. Olive could spot three weapons on her. One was in her hands, a katana. And then two more; a wakawazhi similar to her own, and a small tanto that was strapped to her thigh.

"I recognize these two," The blonde said confidently. "Eve told us about them." Amelia and Owen glanced at her, surprised. "Vincent," Olive added, glancing at the man before shifting her gaze to the woman, "And Jade."

"Correct," Vincent replied respectfully. Jade frowned more, not liking the sound of her name being uttered by an enemy.

"Let's hurry up and kill them," Jade said softly. Her voice was calm but cold, like a winter evening. Her amber eyes flicked to Vincent's and then back at them. "We're wasting time."

"You're quite right Jade. Though, it's a shame that we can't stick around; I'd rather like to hear how our dear Evelyn has been doing."

"How fortunate you won't be leaving here then," Olive said sharply. She disappeared and reappeared behind Vincent before swinging her sword towards him. But he easily dodged to the side. After taking a quick step back, he grabbed his spear out of the ground swiftly, spinning it in his hands before slashing at her. She moved her head to the side, watching the spear as it slid past her and then disappeared once again, switching her target.

Owen and Amelia ran at the two members while Riliane lodged three arrows on her bow once again. Jade ducked past their attacks and parried a blow from Amelia before looking back, her eyes widening as she saw the blade of Olive's wakizashi about to slice her stomach. It was mere centimeters from her before the woman activated her semblance. The blade ripped through her green kimono like paper before it clanged against her skin, making a loud hollow sound. The blonde blinked, surprised, as Jade spun around and thrust her katana forward, aiming for her chest. Olive, who was still caught off guard quickly retracted her blade, holding it up so the katana slid past it's edge towards her arm. It deflected against her aura. The blonde teleported behind her opponent and made a large swipe, once again striking what felt like metal, as her wakizashi sliced through Jade's back.

"What _is_ that?" Olive asked Amelia as she teleported beside her. Amelia's eyes narrowed as Jade straightened and observed them camly. Her amber eyes narrowed.

"Her semblance. I'm guessing she can cover parts of her skin in armor. Or thick skin," Amelia observed.

Olive nodded, "Then even without aura… Blade damage is meaningless.."

Amelia nodded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an earth crystal. Her eyes didn't leave Jade as the tendrils of her scarf reached for it, absorbing its contents and becoming rock hard, "Let's go."

Owen tilted his head to the side as the neon blade whizzed through the air, only a few centimeters beside his ear. He saw the individual strands of his hair get cut off. Owen stumbled back and dug his heel into the ground, tightening his grip on his glaive. Vincent gently tapped his spear on the ground. At first nothing happened. But then the large plasma blade seemed to move. It twisted and turned as it grew longer and sharper, the color of it turning from a bright green to an electric blue. Owen could see the energy pulmunating from it and swallowed nervously. He could hear the furious humming even from where he stood. Then Vincent lowered his stance and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him. Owen took a deep breath and activated his semblance.

It was extremely hazy. Vincent's thoughts weren't necessarily blocked off, but they were well contained. It was as if each of them were stored in their own compartment, only getting let out when their owner wanted them to. Owen immediately stopped, not wanting to give away his one trump card. He could only use his semblance once on him, and after that it wouldn't work at all. His opponent clearly had an excellent control over their thoughts and the only thing allowing Owen to see them at all was the fact that Vincent had no idea what his semblance was.

Sweat dripped down Owen's neck as he released a breath. Then he sprinted forward and spun his glaive in his hands before thrusting it forward. His opponent casually deflected the attack and made an attempt to slash at him. Owen leaned back. He saw the blue blade swing past his eyes as it made a loud hum. Then he attacked once more. It continued on like that. Swing parried by swing, thrust deflected by parry. Vincent's eyes narrowed as he picked up the speed. His spear seemed to fly across his hands at a speed that seemed to be inhuman, it flipped through his fingers with ease as he switched between striking and blocking. Owen was out of breath, barely able to keep up with the pase. He took a few shaking steps backwards as every parry he made became weaker and weaker, until he swung against Vincent's spear so feebly that his opponent was able to overpower him. Vincent grinned and kicked Owen backwards, making the boy fall against a tree. Vincent quickly followed up on his attack and grabbed his spear with both hands, pressing his opponent against the bark. Owen coughed as the metal slammed against his throat. His hands clamped around it and weakly tried to push it away but Vincent forced it closer and leaned in, his eyes enjoying the sight of his spear crushing his windpipe. Owen choked and attempted to push back, but it was fruitless.

"This was nice and all," Vincent said calmly, "But you should really know when you're in over your head. Jade and I have years of experience that you and your friends could hardly match. Even with your little team attacks. And as for your semblance? It wasn't hard to figure out." Owen's eyes widened. "Telepathy right? Or something like that," Vincent hissed. Owen choked again, his face contorted in pain as he looked away. His arms shook, trying to push the spear away. Vincent didn't budge, "That's a nice little trick. But it's useless on opponents who can control what they think. You know that right?" Owen's face started to become red at the loss of oxygen. He tried to call out to his friends but the metal against his windpipe prevented him from saying anything. "If you can't adjust your limits to new opponents that you face, you'll never grow."

Only a few feet away from Vincent and Owen, were Amelia and Olive who were currently engaged in combat with Jade, unaware of their teammate's struggles. Amelia sprinted forward. Her scarf unwound more and swirled in the air, like another limb, before forming a fist and slamming down onto the ground. Jade dodged it and blocked a strike from Olive, stumbling back from the electric aftershock, nearly dropping her weapon. The blonde disappeared and reappeared behind her. Jade felt a strong kick to her back and fell forward with a grunt in time to see Amelia's scarf headed towards her stomach. It clanged against what felt like metal as it slammed into her ribs.

Jade grunted, spitting out blood before yanking out her tanto and sprinting towards Amelia. The raven haired woman easily dodged a punch and proceeded to barrage Amelia with a series of stabs and slices. Her foot connected with Amelia's chest as she executed a roundhouse kick and the girl fell into a tree with a loud thud. Amelia fell onto the ground and rolled onto her side, groaning softly. A crimson wave washed over her body, signifying her loss of aura as she struggled to stand up and then collapsed. Jade slowly pulled out her katana and rubbed the blood off of her chin. She looked at the blonde calmly.

Olive grit her teeth. She teleported behind Jade and then again, and again, confusing her opponent until Jade understood the wind was her tell and could predict her position and thrust her blade forward. It cut past Olive's waist, making her stumble slightly before the blonde teleported above Jade and swung her wakizashi down. Jade parried it but she had no counter for the electrical after image of the blade and she was thrown off. Olive took the opportunity and sprinted towards her opponent, swinging her wakizashi. The blade ripped through another part of the kimono but once again, clanged against her skin. Jade parried another strike and then another before dodging a swipe and kicking Olive's legs from under her.

The blonde fell onto the ground and rolled to her right just before a katana viciously impaled the earth where she had been laying. Olive glanced at it and swallowed as she quickly stood up and teleported behind her opponent. But Jade was used to her movements. She easily spun around and swung her katana, slicing through Olive's arm. The blonde grunted and took a few steps panting heavily. The wound on her arm healed quickly.

Jade stared at her, silent, before sheathing her katana and bringing out a wakizashi. She cried out and stumbled forward as an arrow impaled her thigh. Jade looked her leg and then at the blonde archer who was already notching another string on her bow.

"Don't worry about me!" Olive called out. "Help Owen!" Olive sprinted forward and Jade's head snapped back towards her. The black haired woman quickly pulled out the arrow in her thigh and threw it to the side before she parried a strike. Olive proceeded to swing her wakizashi once more, as Jade did the same thing. Their blades clashed together. The metal screeched loudly as they struggled back and forth.

Riliane took a deep, shaky breath and nodded before searching for Owen who was pinned up against the tree, struggling against Vincent.

"You can do this," She whispered to herself. She carefully grabbed three arrows and notched them on her bow before pulling it back to her cheek and releasing a breath.

Owen was losing his strength. His eyelids fluttered shut and his arms trembled. Vincent continued to speak calmly, "But you can die at ease, knowing that you-" Vincent was cut off as he grunted in pain. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder, eyes widening as he saw the three arrows in his back. His green eyes slid to Riliane before narrowing. Taking advantage of the distraction, Owen used the last of his strength to kick Vincent away, gasping as the spear left his throat. He fell onto the ground and massaged his throat with his hand, coughing uncontrollably. Silent, Vincent yanked the arrows out of his back. He let them fall onto the ground before his foot snapped them.

"Attacking while your opponent has their back to you?" He questioned calmly. "And I thought they taught you about morality at that academy."

"They do," Riliane replied adamantly. Her grey eyes narrowed and she tried to hide her shaking hands, "But I would put them aside without a second thought to help a friend." She glanced at Owen who was still on the ground, "Sorry Owen. I was busy helping Amelia and Olive." Owen waved at her dismissively.

"I'll make you regret that," Vincent hissed as he sprinted towards her. Riliane's body tensed as she notched an arrow and fired. Vincent dodged it. Riliane grit her teeth and notched three more, holding her bow diagonally before releasing the string. The arrows flew straight and true but her opponent rolled onto the ground and they went right over him. Then he slashed at her. The spear was just long enough to scrape her arm and she stumbled backwards. But Vincent didn't give her any time to recover, he quickly sliced at her once more. Riliane dove out of the way and the plasma spear sliced through the ground effortlessly, creating a narrow crevice. She sprinted away before quickly shooting another arrow and transforming her bow into her staff. The arrow skidded off of his arm, completely ignored as he sprinted after her. Within seconds, he was able to grab her and lift her by the throat. Riliane choked a little before slamming her feet into his face. Vincent hissed and threw her onto the ground. Her staff fell out of her hand. Riliane looked around and raked the ground for her weapon, unaware that he was about to slice her in half.

But then an ear splitting scream echoed throughout the forest. Everyone froze, even Vincent who stopped mid swing and looked up. He frowned and looked back at Jade who was still engaged in combat with Olive.

"Jade." He commanded. "Enough." The two broke apart reluctantly, their weapons falling by their sides. Jade looked at him in surprise. "It's over. There's no doubt they heard that. Our cover is blown." Frustration passed over her face.

"Shouldn't we finish this?" She questioned. "They'll only get in the way later."

"They are finished," He said, gesturing to the students. "I don't like causing unnecessary bloodshed. It's not worth my time." Jade's amber eyes narrowed but she sheathed her weapon and curtly nodded. Olive blinked, looking between the two of them. Vincent's eyes slid to Riliane who was frozen.

"Celeste," She whispered. She recognized the voice quite well. Panic flooded her mind and she no longer cared about the spear that was a mere five inches from her skull. Vincent withdrew and sheathed his spear onto his back. He glanced at Owen who was still on the ground and then gestured to Jade. And then the two sprinted off into the forest. Olive was about to dash towards them but Owen stopped her with a meek croak.

"Olive...we can't afford to chase after them..." He gasped. Olive looked around her, exhausted. Amelia lay on the ground. Owen was keeling and rubbing his throat. He let out a sigh. And although Riliane didn't look beat up, she was frozen.

"But...they're going to get away," Olive gritted her teeth. She took a few steps forward before her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground. Her arms felt heavy-like metal weights. She clutched the leaves on the ground with her fingers. "Celeste," She whispered. "Someone...help Celeste."

Riliane shakily stood, leaning against the tree. She grabbed her staff and then looked at her friends worriedly. Owen looked up at her.

"Go," He strained, "Hurry." The blonde nodded and sprinted off in the direction that she had heard the scream. Owen watched her go and then let himself fall onto the ground completely, exhausted.

"Is Amelia okay?" He asked meekly. Olive glanced at Amelia who was unconscious. Her chest rose and fell slowly.

"She's okay." Olive replied. Owen let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God."

"Are you okay Owen?" Olive questioned weakly.

"I've been better," He complained. He leaned back and looked at the sky. "Actually, I learned something today," He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," He closed his eyes, remembering the words Vincent told him. _If you can't adjust your limits to new opponents that you face, you'll never grow._ "I guess I never thought about it." Owen croaked weakly. "I just assumed that I could break through all mental barriers eventually with my semblance-that my raw ability with it would be enough. I never thought that I should practice it, or make it better because it almost always works perfectly. But he's right." Owen added softly. "If I can't make my semblance better I can't grow. If I can't find new ways to use it, I'll just be hindered by it." He tilted his head so his ear rested against the earth and let out a sigh.

Olive clenched her fist and trembled slightly, filled with frustration at her inability to chase after them, to help Celeste, or to do anything for that matter. She made another attempt to stand up but her legs shook and she collapsed on the ground once more. Eventually, she also closed her eyes, letting the aching wave of exhaustion take over her completely.

* * *

Following the sound of the scream, Riliane quickly arrived at its source. In the quiet clearing her semblance only illuminated a curled up Celeste, now whimpering to herself. Approaching carefully Riliane spoke, "Celeste? Are you al-" she was cut off abruptly as she tripped over something and landed in a puddle. The smell of iron was strong as she realized what she had fallen into and backed away from it and the prone mass next to it. Shaken, she continued approaching Celeste, "I-its Riliane, what's wrong?"

As she tried to comfort Celeste a voice quietly spoke out from behind her, "I can't see through you…" Riliane jumped and pointed her weapon towards the voice, "Yet you don't see me either… what a strange group of friends Eve has made."

"W-what do you want?" Riliane questioned, unsure why the person had not yet attacked.

The figure walked closer, the crinkling of leaves affecting Riliane's semblance and alerting her to the large pieces of metal running up the person's arms. "What is she to you?"

"What?"

"She fears losing you… and you came rushing to her aid… Why?"

Riliane was confused by the person's questions, "I… I don't know." In her confusion she hadn't noticed how close the figure had gotten before they leapt forward and yanked her weapon out of her hand sending her tumbling to the ground.

The figured tossed the weapon to the side before walking to a nearby tree and sitting down, "Did you win?"

Riliane backed away towards the still cowering Celeste, "Th-they fled."

The figure sighed, "Of course they did… they can't run forever though…" After that the conversation fell to silence. Riliane cautiously tried to comfort Celeste hoping the others would arrive soon.

Within a few minutes, Eve and D'art burst through the treeline. D'art flinched at the corpse on the ground but Eve seemed unsurprised. The two saw Yukina lying against the tree. She glanced at them silently. D'art froze but Eve grabbed him and tugged him forward. She ignored Yukina and hurried over to Celeste and Riliane who were huddled next to each other.

"What happened?" D'art questioned, breathless. "What's wrong with Celeste?"

"I don't know…" Riliane whispered. "I think it has something to do with her though." She timidly pointed across the forest at nothing. "Erm...the girl." They finally acknowledged the girl dressed in a dirty pink hoodie.

Eve's eye narrowed. "What did you do?" She demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"She got in my way," Yukina calmly replied. After a pause she continued quietly, "I didn't mean to." There was silence once more.

"Why are you still here?" Eve questioned. Yukina offered no verbal reply, simply looking towards Riliane and Celeste and then back at Eve. "That doesn't answer my question." Eve said quietly. But she moved on. "How did you know this was happening? Why were you here?"

"You and your friends are quite easy to follow." Yukina replied. Eve's eye narrowed and she stood up and walked over to the pink haired girl who watched her come over.

"Come with me," Eve said to her. She glanced back at D'art who had a confused expression on his face, "I'll be right back." Yukina hesitated and then also stood, following the raven haired girl into the forest.

"But-" D'art reached towards her but the two were gone. With a sigh, he glanced at Celeste who was still huddled and then a bewildered Riliane who was looking back and forth. He let out a sigh.

* * *

They wandered into the brush for a few feet and then Eve stopped abruptly and crossed her arms. Shadows from the leaves above fell across her face as she observed Yukina.

"Have you just been following us now?" She questioned finally.

"Something like that," Yukina stated.

Eve frowned, "Why?" Yukina stayed silent and looked away.

"Yukina, answer me. Please," Eve added quietly. Yukina looked up at her and then away quickly.

"I don't even know if I know myself."

The raven haired girl sighed, "Were you always so vague with your answers?" Yukina shrugged slowly. The two were silent once more before. "Alright. If that's all you're going to say then I'm just going to leave." She turned around and then stopped. "I'm still not entirely sure if you intentionally hurt Celeste or not, but I want you to know that if you touch her again I won't forgive you." A flash of hurt passed over Yukina's face as Eve began to walk back towards the others.

"Why do you stay with them?" Yukina asked suddenly.

"What?" Eve stopped and looked back at her, "With my friends?"

Yukina frowned at the word "friends" but nodded, "You're just dragging them into danger, you know what Humanity is like…" Eve looked down sadly and then back at her.

"Yes, I know. I know that very well," She paused, "I stay with them because I am selfish. But also because I am a different person, a better person around them." Eve added softly.

"Are they really that important to you?"

"Well at first I didn't think that much of them. I thought they were obnoxious and loud, and didn't understand how to work together and cooperate. But overtime I realized that it didn't matter. I grew to enjoy listening to their conversations and bickering. I grew to treasure the little things, as silly as that might sound to you."

"And yet I was nothing to you."

Eve shook her head slowly, "That's not true at all. Do you think I wanted to leave you? Do you think that I didn't try to bring you with? That I didn't tear myself apart from the guilt? How were you nothing to me, if you were all I could think about for the next several years of my life?" Her voice rose. "Even now, I can't go a day without thinking about you. Even after I tried to push you out of my head because sometimes the guilt became so terrible I couldn't bear doing anything at all!"

"And that makes it ok? Because you regret it?" Yukina snapped back. "Do you even understand what happened when you left? Do you even know what it is you supposedly regret? Do you know how I found out that you had left?" With every question Yukina's voice grew angrier. "I found out when they dragged me from my bed demanding to know where you went, and as they beat me the one and only thing I could think was that there was no way the one person I cared about would have left me." Eve stared at her silently. Her fists clenched and unclenched and she looked down.

"Nothing about what I did was okay." She whispered. Her voice cracked. "And I don't deserve to be forgiven. I don't even forgive myself. And I probably never will. When I left you I left a part of me too. I left our memories and I know that you are what you are today because of me." She broke off and looked away. "I-I don't know what to say. I can't say anything that can make up for it. All I can do is...apologize."

Yukina stared silently for a minute before continuing, "Its driving me mad… Everytime I see you I want to tear you to pieces… just like the rest of them… things would be quiet… the pain would be over… but at the same time." Yukina took a step forward, "You could come with me… We could finish them together… … …maybe then," She abruptly took a step back, mumbling to herself, and looked away from Eve who blinked.

"Come...with you? But I thought you hated me. Why would you...why would you want to be with me if it causes you so much pain?"

Yukina laughed unexpectedly, "Hate is the only non painful thing I have… it'd be so much easier if I could just hate…" Her last words did not seem to be directed towards Eve.

"Hate is a simple way out," Eve replied softly. "Hating someone is easy to do, but it won't provide anything meaningful in the long run. All it'll give you is spite." She shook her head. "I can't tell you what to do Yukina, I don't have that right. But loving is easy too. It can be painful sometimes, but when you love someone it happens effortlessly. Maybe...maybe that's what you need."

"If only it were that simple." Yukina backed away and it seemed like she was going to leave but she stopped once again. "Eve...do you still wonder what kind of Faunus you are?"

Eve blinked. "What?" She was silent for a little. "I...I guess?"

Yukina slowly replied, "I saw the files when I… escaped," the word "escaped" seemed forced, "...You are a fox."

"Oh," Eve said softly. "I see."

"Nothing about our parents in there though… not that it matters." Eve nodded sadly.

"I gave up the search for my parents years ago."

"I never bothered… Can't imagine they care anymore." Yukina started to walk away but called back one last time, "I didn't see that rabbit kid with y'all, probably best he wasn't here. Doesn't seem to have the stomach for it… When you see him though, tell him thanks for the meal again… and that I'm sorry I couldn't do what he asked." Yukina continued forward. Eve's eyes widened when she realized who she was talking about. She opened her mouth to say something but it was too late. Yukina was gone.

Eve hurried back to her friends. They were almost exactly where she had left them, but now Owen, Amelia and Olive sat next to the others. They looked fairly beaten up. Amelia had a giant bruise on her cheek and Owen had a red line across his neck while Olive had dirt all over her clothes. They looked up at her and smiled tiredly. Eve blinked, "Are you guys okay?"

"Never been better," Owen said weakly. He waved at her tiredly. Eve knelt beside them and sighed, relieved.

"You guys didn't come back so I was getting worried."

"What happened to Celeste?" Olive asked quickly.

"It was Yukina." Eve clarified, "She...I don't know, she said it was an accident. But even so...she might have-"

"I don't think she meant ill harm." Riliane added quickly, "At least...not when I got here. I think she was...guarding us."

"Guarding?" Eve inquired. Riliane nodded.

"She disarmed me but then she just sat there, saying nothing. I think she was making sure we were alright." Eve blinked and then looked down.

"So that's why she didn't say anything…" She whispered.

"I'm just glad everyone's alright," D'art said loudly as he let out a sigh. "I honestly didn't know what was going to happen."

"Meh, just a few cuts and bruises here and there," Owen shrugged. "Other than that, in perfect condition."

"You were nearly suffocated," Olive pointed out.

"What?!" A bewildered Eve and D'art asked simultaneously. Owen

laughed sheepishly and then clutched his throat and grimaced.

"Like I said, just a few cuts and bruises."

"You're crazy." D'art said with a shake of his head. "But I'm glad everything's okay now." There was silence. Everyone knew that it wasn't okay. The lingering feeling of dread still hung in the air. The knowledge that it wasn't over. The injuries on everyone was a relentless reminder. But eventually they got up and made their way out of the forest, exchanging their tales of battle and bravado.

* * *

After being reassured that Celeste was alright, the girls of team ROXA returned to their dorm, the tension from their encounter with Humanity and Yukina was still weighing heavily on everyone. Riliane closed the door behind her, "I can't wait any longer." She turned to face where she figured Xanthic was, "We need to talk."

"Wha-what about?" His voice helped correct her angle.

"Well… I do want to say I'm sorry about before. I know it wasn't your fault, I just… I really hate keeping secrets. Like, I can understand why you would need to sometimes, but-" She sighed to stop herself. "I'm sorry."

"N-no, you… You're fine I- I-it's my fault, really."

"It's not though, you never give yourself enough credit for how kind you are."

"Pl-please don't say that…" She could tell that he turned away from her.

"But it's true, you're a great guy and even though the secrets hurt they aren't the biggest problem... It's just… well uh..."

"What..?"

Riliane took a deep breath before continuing, "I need to talk to Nivens about it." After a short pause she added quietly, "Somewhere private preferably."

"Oh u-um…" He started mumbling, clearly towards his counterpart. "A-are you sure? I… I mean you- B-but…" With a sigh Xanthic agreed.

"Somewhere private?" Nivens repeated, she could tell just from his tone that he was smirking. "Sure, Lainey, lead the way."

She cringed at his typical mocking nature, but made herself calm down. "Let's go to the roof then."

When they exited to the top of the building Riliane turned to hopefully be facing her partner again. "So what do you want?" He asked in what she thought to be an overly relaxed manor.

"What do you have against being on this team?"

"Eh, guess I just wanna be a solo act."

"And what about Xanthic? Do you ever stop to think about what he wants?"

There was a long pause before a serious response came, "Are you an idiot? Of course I do."

"Really? Because it seems to me like all you want to do is cause trouble for him."

"And what would you know?" She heard a soft thud as he pushed off the door he had been leaning against.

"We are partners. I have seen plenty of times when you have only made things worse. All you try to do is antagonize and push everyone away from him," Riliane replied starting to get worked up again.

"He doesn't need any of your annoying pity. It's you people who will only make everything worse."

"Why do you think we would pity him? Xanthic is our friend and my partner, and friends help each other," Riliane stated adamantly, not realizing the phrasing of her words.

"Friend, partner or whatever, even if you were his wife I would still know him better. So you can just back off."

"No! I am the leader of this team and this is a problem that needs to be solved," she replied with a stamp of her foot. "Xanthic shouldn't have to keep making up for your actions!"

"And what actions are you talking about?" He leaned closer towards her with a clear challenge to his voice, "Do you mean when I tell the truth that you claim to love so much? Maybe that I attend most of his classes now so he doesn't feel sleep deprived? Or how I'm the one that has to explain everything because you just keep on pushing him past his breaking point?"

"I've only been trying to understand him so I can help. He clearly needs to be able to rely on someone other than you!" Riliane shouted back releasing all her pent up anger at Nivens.

"All you do is push and push! Over and over again! How much of it do you think he can take?"

"He gets so stressed out because you keep manipulating him into not trusting us!"

"Why should he trust you!? When I actually gave you a chance you failed miserably."

"One mistake isn't a reason to force everyone away!"

"One or one hundred doesn't matter. All that happened was you proved I'm the only person he can actually trust."

"The only person he can trust? You're not even a real person!" Riliane froze as she realized what she had said. She could barely sense as her partner's fist's tightened and his whole body began to shake

"What..? You… What's wrong with…" Nivens suddenly yelled out and reached up to punch Riliane. Sensing the movement she stumbled over from the surprise but he still made certain his words stung like knives, "Maybe I wasn't born, but I'd say that's far better than to have been born wrong. I doubt somebody as naturally incompetent as you could even begin to understand the first thing about either of us. Afterall, you're just some pathetic blind girl who literally stumbled her way into Beacon. So what do you think gives you the fucking right to judge me? If somebody like you has the right to live, then why the hell don't I!?" His final words echoed across the whole campus. Nivens' deep breathing was jagged as he attempted to calm himself down, not caring about the tears in the girl's grey eyes. He quietly repeated himself, "Why is it wrong for _me_ to be alive too..?"

Wiping away her tears Riliane quietly spoke, "I… I didn't mean that…."

"People don't say things unless they mean it at least a little," He argued back. Riliane's only reply was silence. "What, you don't want to preach at me anymore? I thought you were supposed to know everything now. Well? Say something!"

"I just… I'm sorry, I-"  
"No you're not. You just want to keep up your facade of being so kind-hearted and sweet, too cowardly to admit-" Nivens groaned in pain and stumbled. "Why not!? She-" He growled, "You're taking her side in this!? You would be rotting in pieces in Who Knows Where, Anima if it wasn't for me! So why!? Why am I the villain here..?"

The boy's legs gave out and he fell to his knees. Riliane hesitated in calling out to him, "Ni-nivens? Are you alright..? I… I'm sorry, I really didn't mean what I said and I definitely didn't mean it like that."

He wasn't listening to her and cried out in pain, "D-d-don't leave me… Pl-please… I… I'm s-s-sorry! Please… I-I need you… You promi-missed…"

"Xanthic..?" Rilliane kneeled down and pulled her partner into a hug. He stiffened at her touch, but otherwise didn't resist. She felt his tears soak through her shirt, how long had he been crying for? "I'm sorry."

"Let go…" Her partner mumbled. "I don't want you to touch me."

"Why not?" She asked, but complied regardless.

"Because there is only one person who's actually earned that privilege. Believe it or not, it is possible to earn my trust."

"Then how can I?"

Nivens stood up and she heard him brush dirt off of his pants. "Where would be the fun in just telling you?" He sighed and extended a hand to help her up. "Try looking at this a bit differently, I exist because Xanthic needs me to. It's literally my job to know what's best for him. So maybe you could stop trying to bust down our defenses and just knock on the door instead. Or did your parents not teach you proper manners after all?"

"They did, but you never open up." She accepted his help in standing.

"Would you, if there was just a sudden banging?"

"I…" He didn't let go of her hand.

"We have three more years ahead of us and I would like to avoid another scene like this. So what do you want in exchange for just letting me do my job?"

She had to think for a moment, "I only want you to at least try and be part of ROXA. For both of you to act like my partner."

"Hm… So all I have to do is try and be nicer?"

"I'd also like for you to actually talk to me about things."

"You know that part is more difficult," Nivens sighed. "But if that's what it takes to avoid getting these migraines, then fine." He shook her hand, "You have a deal Riliane."

"Really?" She asked, "Just like that?"

"I'd rather not be suffering here for three years, cause then I might as well of stayed home. So I'll try and deal with your terms. Just know that you're on a very thin rope now."

"It can't be that much worse than before, right?" She laughed nervously.

"You'd be surprised," Nivens said and opened the door for her. He was surprised to see Eve reaching for the handle. "Hm? What do you-" He remembered the promise he had just made and put on a very fake smile, "Oh whatever could it be that brought about this most fortuitous encounter?"

"What..?" Eve completely lost her train of thought.

"Nivens," Riliane scolded.

"Fine, fine. What do you want, Eve?" He slouched back.

"Something's been bothering me," Nivens was clearly biting his tongue, "And I need to talk to you about it."

"Oo, guess I'm popular today. And I'm assuming since you came all the way up here to look for me, you wanna talk in private too?" Eve ignored his snide remarks.

"I'd appreciate it." They all shifted so Eve could exit the building and nod at Riliane, "Sorry if I am interrupting something."

"No, don't worry about it," Riliane assured her. "We were actually just finished here. So I'll see you later." She closed the door after herself.

"So. You met Yukina?"

"Huh? I told you about the factory, didn't I?"

"After that."

"What do you… Oh, you ran into her again today?"

"Correct." Eve crossed her arms. "Why did you meet up with her Nivens? And more importantly, why didn't you say anything to me?"

"I had a hunch you'd be pissed about it, plus you never really asked." He shrugged then sighed, "Besides, I didn't _meet up with her_. Xanthic was doing an errand for Basil and we were unfortunate enough to run into her. Trust me, we both thought it'd be best to just run away, but she's unsurprisingly persistent."

"That doesn't change the fact that you should have said something," Eve said cooly. She took a deep breath and then sighed, "Well, were you two okay? What happened?"

"Some things were said and Xanthic managed to guilt trip himself into spending the day with her; she was hungry, so he bought her dinner and she said she didn't have a place to stay, so he paid for a hotel. There was a bit that got me worried, but despite her sadistic tendencies, she really is still just a child."

"I see," Eve paused, "Well… I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I know she can be a little...too much at first. But thank you for accommodating her, I appreciate it. She's really not that bad once you get to know her."

"Seems like it, but really your thanks should be towards Xanthic. I honestly had to resist punching her the entire time. Child or not, I can't forgive her that easily for what she did to him…" Eve nodded.

"I understand. Mind if I talk to Xanthic quickly?"

"Give me a minute first," Nivens stepped back and closed his bright green eyes. " _You okay for a conversation right now?"_

" _I-I…"_

" _I can always tell her_ no _."_

" _N-n-no I… I can um…"_

" _We can talk about that later. Right now something else is happening."_

" _B-but you-"_

" _I never lie to you, and I promised before not to leave before you can really call somewhere_ home _."_

" _Thank you…"_ He opened his eyes to reveal their deep blue color, "What um… What did you wanna talk about..?"

"Well...I wanted to apologize for the trouble Yukina caused you. And also thank you for being so polite to her, even if you didn't want to. She's not used to being treated so well, so I'm sure that was...different for her."

"Oh, um, do-don't worry about it. I was j-just doing wh-what my mom taught me to…"

Eve smiled a little. "You must have a wonderful mother."

Xanthic smiled in return, Eve thought it must have been one of the only genuine smiles she's seen from him, "She's amazing…"

"I'm sure… I was never able to experience that kind of love," She added softly before clearing her throat, "Anyways, I'm sorry for taking up your time but I should be going now." She gave him a little wave. "Goodnight Xanthic."

"G-Goodnight." After saying goodbye, the two made their way back to their dorms. After a few words were exchanged, the teens quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the strenuous day.


	23. S2 C6

Team ROXA was all together in their room; Riliane and Amelia were studying, Olive was reading her comics and Xanthic was taking a nap. A light knocking came at their door and Riliane decided put her scroll down to answer it. Initially she used her semblance in an attempt to identify the pair in front of her. All she could make out was the woman wore earrings and a cross necklace and the man held a metal cane, had a piercing in his right ear, and she assumed the metal on his wrists were cufflinks. "Can I help you?" She asked with a smile.

"Oh, you look just like your mother," The woman said brightly.

"You know my parents..?"

"Yes, of course. Oh," She chuckled and extended her hand. "Sorry, I'm being quite rude. I should have introduced myself first, I'm Claire Picto and this is my husband, Orelon."

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Riliane accepted her handshake, "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you, I'm sorry for coming completely unannounced."

"Don't worry about it. I'm guessing you're here to see Xanthic?"

"Yes, I was hoping so, but it seems he isn't here?"

"No, he is." Riliane let them in and pointed towards her partner's bed, "He's just resting a bit." As the two stepped into the room Olive and Amelia introduced themselves and took note of their appearances. Claire wasn't that much taller than them and her sandy blonde hair was cut above her shoulders. With her deep blue eyes they forgot for a moment that her and Xanthic weren't actually mother and son. She dressed in pastels, a pink pencil skirt with a cream colored jacket over a light blue blouse. All of which stood in a strong contrast to her husband; who wore a long dark grey coat with bright blue trimming, a deep red colored vest underneath that, then a white dress shirt. He had slightly off-white gloves that hold his black, silver, and blue cane, but appeared to be able to walk just fine. Orelon's natural features were about as different as possible from Claire and Xanthic as well, his dark brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and his orange eyes seemed to stand out more against his somewhat tanned skin. It was due to the way that he carried himself that he also seemed far taller than he was.

After giving a formal introduction to the others Orelon turned to look at Xanthic, "Perhaps it is too much for him after all,"

"Nonsense, he's just taking a nap. There's nothing wrong with-" Claire stopped herself and walked closer to her son. Her bright smile faded into one that almost seemed somber, "I don't know how to thank all of you…"

"What do you mean?" Amelia asked.

"I," She hesitated to find the right words, "You got him to open up. I was worried he'd end up hurting himself from trying to hide his ears during all four years."

"Oh," Riliane thought back to her fairly recent fight with Nivens, "You really shouldn't thank us for that."

"It sounds a bit rude, doesn't it?" Claire chuckled, "Nonetheless, I'm glad to see him without his hat outside of the house."

"Um, about that… H-he said something before about when you first found out, but you seem far too nice to do something like that."

She thought for a moment then looked at Orelon with her head slightly tilted. "I assume he poorly worded how you wished to promote his origin," He explained and received nods from the other two girls.

"Ah, that is a difficult subject to explain. Hm… There really is no simple way of putting it, but I want to make it clear to you three that I don't have any intention of forcing Xanthic to do anything. I'm...used to always thinking of things in regards to profit, because that's how my father raised me. When I discovered Xanthic's ears my initial thought was that we might finally be able to settle down our political disputes, but he was wholeheartedly against the idea, so I gave it up completely and helped him disguise as my biological son." She looked back down at the bed, "Though, I do still wish that he'd embrace himself more, because I know it hurts him to hide like that."

"I wish he would talk with everyone more too…" Riliane said quietly, remembering that Nivens claimed he never confessed to his parents about himself.

"Yes… It really is a shame that he seems to lack so much courage considering he's positively brilliant. If we were actually blood related I might suggest he inherited my father's witt." She noticed the girls stiffen slightly.

"You think he's like Lucent Picto?" Olive asked in a way that matched Claire's easygoing tone, but still showed her concern.

"Oh, yes… You'll have to forgive me, but I cannot condemn my father as everyone wishes me to." She took Orelon's arm before continuing. "I agree completely that what he did was terrible, but he was still my father and I loved him dearly. He used to be considered one of Remnant's greatest, you know, founding both a company and a city outside the kingdoms while raising me on his own because my mother left him for being too ambitious. My father was the reason that scrolls were invented, so I don't believe all of a man's great qualities should be forgotten because of a fault in judgment." Claire sighed, "Unfortunately many people don't share my philosophy."

"So, um…" Amelia fidgeted in her desk, "Sorry, nevermind."

"Are you certain?" Amelia nodded silently, she was embarrassed for drawing so much unnecessary attention. "Alright then." The room was quiet for a while until Claire changed the topic, "If you don't mind I'd rather like to learn a bit more about you ladies." All three agreed and talked about themselves in turn. Olive was very open about her family, but they all noticed Claire was biting her tongue to avoid sharing her opinion on the Braz Clan. The other two talked more about their school life than home. As Riliane shared she could feel Orelon's harsh gaze. It seemed like he was about to ask her something when they all heard a squeaky gasp.

"Fa-father what're-" Xanthic's initial shock passed as he noticed Claire was also present. "Mom… What are um… Why are you here?" He stood up and despite his shaking leg, had perfect posture as he adjusted his shirt to look more presentable.

"We were in town for our annual meeting with the Vale branch, so I thought we might stop by after speaking with Ozpin." Claire explained to him. "Sorry if I'm being too bothersome, but I just really wanted to see how you were doing. And your teammates all seem highly capable, I'm a little surprised you don't talk about them more."

"Right, um, sorry I guess…"

"Nono, I don't mean... Well I suppose it's partially my fault for not asking more often." She saw Xanthic was still really uncomfortable with the situation and walked over to hug him. "It's good to see you again, Sweetie," She said quietly. His reaction to her touch was the complete opposite of when Riliane attempted to comfort him. His body relaxed completely and he even wrapped his arms around her in return.

"Good to see you too, mom…"

Claire lightly ruffled the top of his head before she stepped back and addressed the others. "Perhaps as an apology for intruding we could treat you ladies to a meal?" With no reason to refuse, they accepted the offer.

"Perhaps you should invite the other four," Orelon suggested to her. "You wished to meet them as well, did you not?"

"Oh, you're right, Dear. Team CODE I think you referred to them as," She turned to Xanthic briefly to check. He nodded and she continued. "It won't be much of an apology then, but would you mind if we asked them to come along as well?"

"Not at all," Riliane answered.

Olive giggled, "The more the merrier, right?"

"I'm glad we agree on that," Claire chuckled.

Xanthic's heart skipped as he realized something. "Um, d-don't you think it'll be difficult to find somewhere to seat so many people without a reservation?"

"Hm…" She thought for a moment. "Oh! That café we went to last year. Would you mind calling them, Orelon?"

"Of course, My Dear. I will wait for you with Jasper." He kissed her cheek before leaving the room.

"Shall we then?" Claire asked after Xanthic hid his ears with a black and yellow hat.

"Yeah, CODE's room is just a few halls down," Amelia lead the way.

* * *

Claire had struck up a conversation with Riliane about her parents as they walked. Their discussion and journey were cut short as they ran into the four they were looking for. "What great timing," Riliane smiled. "We were just heading to your dorm."

"What for?" Eve asked while Celeste eyed up Claire.

"Mrs. Picto?" The short girl wondered aloud.

"Just Claire, if you don't mind." She held her hand out, "It's a pleasure. You're Evelyn, right?"

"No, that's Eve." She gestured at her teammate.

"Oh, sorry. I'm afraid my husband is better with names than I am. It's Celeste then?"

"That's right," They shook hands. "This is D'art and-" Celeste sighed as she saw her partner smirk.

" _I'm Owen."_ Claire had to take a moment to process the new voice in her head.

" _Right, Xanthic told me about your semblance. It really is something spectacular, never having to wonder what others are thinking."_

" _Yeah, but you often hear too much. Like how you're thinking about my tail."_

" _I'm sorry, please believe that I meant no offense-"_

" _I know. Don't worry about it."_

" _Thank you, Owen."_

" _Nah, I just figure you can't be that bad if the first thought your son had when we met was about how awesome my arm is."_ He flexed and the two chuckled. " _He can get annoying occasionally, but to each their own, right?"_

" _I certainly hope he hasn't caused you any trouble. I know he sometimes acts a bit out of character and speaks without restraint."_

" _Yeah…"_ Owen thought about the last time Nivens showed up. " _Everybody needs some sort of release when things get bottled up."_

" _You might have a point there. This sounds a bit pathetic coming from his mother, but I wish he would just say what he's thinking in the first place."_ She sighed but clapped her hands and a smile was on her face again, "Sorry about that."

"No worries," Celeste said. "So why were you looking for us?"

"Ah, right. I was going to ask if you wouldn't mind joining us for a meal, my treat of course."

"That'd be great, we were just going down to the cafeteria."

"Well we were planning on going a bit further out, I hope that doesn't damper your own plans."

"Not at all. I'm sure wherever you've chosen has far better food than here."

"Is the food here that bad?" Claire asked as they began walking out.

"Not really, it just gets a bit repetitive."

"Hey, Cel?" D'art asked.

"What?"

"Why're you acting like that?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"You're being super formal. What, do you really care about first impressions that much?"

"Aren't you just caring too little? You kinda represent an entire country here."

"Yeah, but it's better to have an honest impression than not actually getting to know anything about someone."

Claire nodded, "While I tend to agree with that sentiment, D'art, there are many people who prefer formalities." She smiled, "Ms. Shade, if this apparent act is because of our families, then I'd like to assure you that I have no quarrels with the Komoris. In fact, I've never been one to support violence, but one must appreciate the quality of their craftsmanship."

"Of course, you can't find a sword like a Komori Blade anywhere else." She said proudly.

"Yes, though I still wish there wasn't a need for anyone to cary blades. But that's just a little fantasy of mine, as long as the Grimm are around we'll still need huntsmen and huntresses." Wanting to change the topic, Claire looked at D'art, "Since you brought it up, would you mind telling me about The Ridge? I've never found the opportunity to visit."

He laughed, full of pride, "Where to begin…"

* * *

D'art was able to go on about his homeland until they reached Beacon's air dock and were greeted by Orelon and a young man with orange hair that was held back by a pair of brown goggles. He wore a dark purple vest over a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. "Let's see if I can get this right," The man weaved his fingers together to crack his knuckles and pointed to each of the students in order. "Twintails is Ms. Avadona, Olive's got two-toned hair, the ursa pelt belongs to the Guardsman D'artagnan, black braids is Eve, Owen's got Atlesian enhancements, the shortest is Ms. Shade, and scarfie is... Amethyst?"

"It's Amelia actually," She corrected him and noticed Celeste was containing herself from getting upset about the short comment.

"Oh, my bad, miss." He extended a leather-gloved hand to her, "I'll remember it this time, Amelia."

She accepted his handshake awkwardly, "And um, you are?"

"Right, sorry 'bout that." He bowed slightly and spoke to the group as a whole, "I'm Jasper, the Picto family's pilot."

"Pardon me," Orelon spoke up, "But shall we get going?"

"Of course sir." Jasper opened the door at the front of the ship and jumped into the cockpit. A moment later the wooden panel of wall in front of them folded down. Olive was the first to go in with a 'wow,' then Xanthic followed. He helped Riliane and Amelia up. His friends were surprised by two things; that the ship still had plenty of room after everyone boarded and that Xanthic seemed so genuinely happy to be inside. The trip into Vale was brief, but Xanthic was still able to show off his favourite feature of the ship; that it could fly with the entire wall still folded down. They all quickly realized that the reason he was fidgety on their flight to The Ridge was because he didn't like closed rooms, but he apparently loved flying and heights.

They all maintained casual conversation until arriving at their destination. It was an elegant balcony café. A large pearl colored awning provided shelter from the bright sun while still allowing ample light. Half of the circular tables were arranged in a circular pattern that made them look like flower petals. They sat in an order; Orelon next to Claire, then Xanthic next to her with Riliane on his other side, Celeste was quick to take the next seat, D'art sat between her and Eve, with Owen, Amelia and Olive filling in the last three chairs. Everyone ordered their own drink along with a dessert and the conversation resumed.

Currently the students were sharing about their class trip to La Crête and Owen couldn't contain himself anymore and had to ask, "Excuse me, Orelon. I've been wondering about something for a while now, when we were at The Ridge a man approached us named Basil. He said he was a friend of yours."

"I see," Orelon leaned back in his seat. "Well, first of all, I would greatly prefer that you not refer to me so familiarly." " _Secondly, it is quite rude to invade one's mind after asking a question,"_ He made eye contact with Owen, " _I am perfectly willing to answer your questions."_

" _Sorry, Mr. Picto,"_ Owen laughed nervously, " _Bit of a habit."_

"Anyways, ' _friend'_ really is not an accurate term to describe our relationship. I assume you brought him up because of his unique perspective on faunus, which I will to assure you I do not share, though it is understandable to some extent."

Amelia attempted to conceal her sudden anger, "Sorry if this is rude, but do you find Humanity's perspective to be _understandable_ as well?"

"Naturally I do not believe that the eradication of faunus is even remotely a condonable concept. If one were to ignore for a moment the absurd morality required, it is hardly plausible without declaring a full scale war, which we've already seen as a faunus victory."

It was Claire who continued from that, "But it was that same war that I can understand why there are some people that will hold grudges against the faunus."

"Because they decided to fight back?" Owen asked.

"When speaking of Mantal do you feel rage for their greed? Or rather pity at their economic state?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your generation is almost completely unaffected by the Faunus War now, but it _was_ a war. Humans and faunus killed each other and it can be difficult to forgive those that took away your loved ones." She turned to Orelon, who was still perfectly composed.

He let out a short sigh, "My father was a huntsman recruited near the end of the war. He was killed and his body was never recovered. So I believe you will have to forgive me if I can sympathise to some extent with those that dislike your race."

Riliane grew anxious from the hostility growing around them, "I'm sorry about your father, sir. Maybe it'd be best if we found something else to talk about?"

"This has gotten far too dark for our first meeting," Claire agreed. "I feel like we've learned so much about you all that we should share more about ourselves… Hmm…" She tried to sort through her usual topics of conversation which were business, politics, Xanthic's schooling, and books she's read.

"What about how the two of you met?" Riliane suggested. "I mean Mistral and Keshiki can't be much farther away from each other."

"Oh," She lit up. "Would you care to tell them, dear, or should I?"

"You are far better at telling that story than I am," Orelon answered.

Claire smiled, "Well then, it's actually thanks to the faunus war when you think about it. My father decided to hold a banquette after Keshiki was officially recovered and invited our business partners along with other important families from around remnant. Orelon's family was included on that list, but both of his parents had already passed and it was actually our first time meeting." She giggled, "He was completely stiff from nerves when he approached me to introduce himself. I just had to accept his offer to dance, but it was almost as if the orchestra knew that we'd be married one day and they started playing a slow song. His face turned such a shade of pink I wasn't sure how much more attractive he could get. I'm not sure if Xanthic's mentioned this before, but our home is on the edge of the forest, so we often have a few guards to take care of wandering grimm. It just so happened that that night an Ursa Major attacked. While everyone else was panicking, Orelon moved without thinking. He took two swords from the coat of arms we used to have hanging and the way he fought was so masterful, each movement was so precise and purposeful, I think nearly every woman there fell in love. My father spoke to him for a moment and after finding out his brain was just as exorcised as his body, offered for him to stay with us and gave him a job in the company. It made me kind of sad that he moved out so soon, but apparently he wanted to be self sufficient before officially asking me to go on a date. He finally proposed after four years."

Two of the three faunus at the table were still uncertain about how Claire could speak so naturally about her father. Eve was giving her the benefit of the doubt, though, because Xanthic thought so highly of her. "If it was your first time meeting," Celeste asked, "Then why were you so nervous?"

"That is because until the moment I laid my eyes upon Claire I never believed in love at first sight," Orelon explained frankly. "Truthfully, I had no faith in love whatsoever. Yet a mere glance at her smile lit a flame in my heart that still burns today." He noticed Celeste quickly glance at Riliane before looking away, both of them had a blush. Orelon nodded once to himself before addressing D'art, who was trying to contain his chuckling. "Is there something I said that you find humorous?"

"Sorry, I was just… I was thinking about how popular Xanthic would be with the ladies if he talked like you."

"Hm," He completely ignored that it was meant to be a joke, "I expected his mannerisms to differ while here; however, Xanthic has always been popular among women around his age."

"Wha- Really?" As they went on Xanthic blushed and looked down.

"I don't understand why you're so surprised," Claire laughed. "My son is a perfect gentleman and an excellent dancer. Besides being so considerate of others, he is positively brilliant. I already know my company will be in good hands."

Orelon curled his gloved fingers around her hand and spoke in a low voice, "You should not speak as if you approbate your mortality, my dear."

"You fret too much, dear." Claire kissed her husband on the cheek, but then noticed Xanthic's leg shaking and shifted her focus. "Are you alright, Sweetie?"

"S-sorry!" Xanthic jumped in his seat as she touched his shoulder. "I-I, um, sorry…"

Claire frowned, "We could discuss something else if you'd prefer?"

"Coul-could I um…" He swallowed and kept his head bowed, "Might I be excused for a moment?"

"I suppose so," She watched sadly as he quickly fled from the tables. "Has he been like that often?"

"Yeah…" Riliane admitted. "On the occasions he doesn't run we usually end up in a fight…"

"Oh dear… That doesn't happen often, does it?"

"It used to be at least, but I think we finally have everything cleared up between us."

"I see… I certainly hope you haven't been pushing him too hard. Xanthic's always had difficulty with confrontation, so if there's a misunderstanding it'll tend to fester." Claire sighed, "I just wish there was something I could do so he'd trust me more."

"You don't need to do anything."

"Pardon?"

"Xanthic already trusts you more than anyone else," Riliane explained. "He- well he didn't _tell_ me that, but he avoids letting anybody touch him. Earlier today though, when you hugged him, he stopped thumping the floor and I could sense his shoulders relax."

"You are surprisingly perceptive, Ms. Avadona." Orelon said blatantly.

"Dear," Claire whispered to him, "Saying something like that…"

"Right, my apologies," He didn't look apologetic at all. "My intention was nothing more than a compliment."

"I know," Riliane forced a smile, "And thank you. By the way," Her smile became more genuine, "On your wrists, those are cufflinks, right? They have an interesting shape."

"So you can even identify the detail of something so small?" He raised his right arm up so the others could see what they were talking about.

"Yep, though that's really only because they're made of metal."

"I see. Then Xanthic's explanation was accurate."

"What do you mean?"

"Despite having a sound oriented ability himself, he was rather timid while describing your semblance to us."

"It is a bit complicated, I think. Or at least it's just difficult to explain, it'd be the same as any of you trying to describe color to me."

"The mechanics are simplistic; however, your perception itself is what intrigues me most."

"You sound more like a scientist than a businessman," Olive joked.

"Is that so?"

"Orelon's always been the inquisitive type," Claire explained proudly. "I once found him in the middle of the night reverse engineering our holographic screen projector."

"They were still a rarity at that time," He pointed out.

"It is amazing, though, how much technology advances in only a few years," She said thoughtfully.

"Sorry about that," The students were unsure for a moment if it was Xanthic or Nivens who came back.

"It's alright, Sweetie." Claire's face was full of concern, "You're not feeling ill, are you?'

"No, I'm fine. I think it's just… being at Beacon, and especially because of Humanity, I've been thinking about…" He smiled at her with his eyes closed, "Nevermind, you shouldn't worry about it. I'm fine, I promise."

She sighed softly, "Alright then…"

Silence passed as no one knew how to break the current atmosphere.

Orelon used two fingers to uncover his watch, "Pardon, I must regretfully take my leave. It was… Interesting to meet all of you, farewell." He stood and kissed Claire before walking away.

"Where's he going?" Olive asked.

"I don't recall exactly," Claire told them. "He had scheduled a meeting of some sort today."

"Without you?" Riliane asked.

"Aren't you above him, businesswise?" Celeste added.

"That's all the more reason," Claire explained. "Does your uncle oversee every transaction, Celeste? Riliane, do both your parents go over each individual document?" Celeste gave a quiet 'no' and Riliane stayed silent. "Work needs to be appropriately delegated out in order to be efficient."

"Shouldn't you at least know what his meeting's about?" D'art questioned.

She shook her head lightly, "I'm simply not that good at remembering factual information like that. Names and dates are often lost on me, unless I take the effort to actively memorize them."

"Wouldn't that make things kind of difficult?" Amelia asked carefully.

"Sometimes, but Orelon is so patient and helpful. As both an employee and my husband, I really am lucky to have him."

Owen noticed Nivens roll his eyes, " _Doesn't look like you agree with her."_

" _She could do so much better,"_ Nivens thought back. " _I'm honestly surprised he was willing to leave her alone with all of us."_

" _H-he's not that bad,"_ Xanthic added, " _Just kinda scary…"_

" _Creepy and annoying are more like it. He had you cooped up in the library so often you've read every book they own."_

" _I learn better that way though…"_

The two began just going back and forth with each other like that, so Owen quickly lost interest. After checking to confirm his hunch on Celeste's current thoughts he turned to his other teammate. Eve was looking at her tea that was only half empty, " _Are you alright?"_

She looked up to meet his gaze briefly, " _This'll sound weird, but it felt like he was staring at me."_

" _Orelon? Yeah, I thought I noticed him looking at you an awful lot considering you never said anything to him."_

" _Is there any chance you were able to pick up anything from him?"_

" _Sorry, his mind's set up a lot like Vincent's. He has almost perfect control."_

" _Almost?"_

" _Yeah, the one thing I can tell you for certain is that he's completely in love with Claire. He never stopped thinking about her. Everything he said, he was thinking about how she would react."_

" _Is that what love is like?"_

" _I think it's just him,"_ Owen shrugged. " _I've never met anybody who thinks like him before."_

With Eve no longer responding to him he peered next into the mind of Claire. Her thoughts were organised, but they were out in the open. " _I shouldn't have let the conversation stop like this. Oh, how did we manage to get to such unpleasant topics? I just wanted to share a meal and get to know them all better. Perhaps I can still salvage this, but the longer it takes to think of what to say the more awkward it'll be."_

Owen smiled with content, there's no way somebody with such honest thoughts like that could ever be purposefully harmful. "Maybe since it's nice out today, we could hang out in the park for awhile?"

Amelia nodded silently and Riliane smiled, "The sun does feel good today." Celeste was quick to jump on board with the plan after that and nobody else argued with the idea. They headed out after finishing the little remains of their food.

With the more freeing setting almost everyone was more comfortable and they were able to have a normal conversation.

* * *

The sun began getting low and after insisting on paying for dinner Claire walked them back to the airfield. Xanthic hugged his mother goodnight and the students all boarded, all except Eve that is. She looked Claire in the eyes, "Would you mind if I spoke with you for a moment?"

"Of course not," She held a hand up telling Jasper to wait. "What is it Evelyn?"

Eve stepped away from the airship a bit, "I wanted to say thank you."

"There's no need. Today really was more for my own satisfaction," Claire chuckled.

"That's not what I meant," Eve shook her head slightly and Claire became somewhat confused. "I found out the other day that Xanthic ran into an old friend of mine and… You see she just needs…" She sighed, "I don't know what she needs actually. But Xanthic took care of her, went out to eat and paid for a hotel. Even though I know he had no reason to, he probably doesn't even like her. He said he only did that because of how you raised him though, so I wanted to say thank you."

"Oh, I see… Well, I suppose you're welcome then. Really though, if Xanthic doing that was so monumental in her life, I think all she needs would be spending more time with the friend who cares so much about her, they would give a heartfelt thanks to the mother of someone who helped them."

"It's not that simple with her…" Eve said looking down.

"If I may, Evelyn," No objection was given, "Often when things seem the most complicated an easy solution works best." Their eyes met again and her smile was able to reassure Eve, if only a little bit. "You should probably be on your way now."

"Right, um… Goodnight Mrs. Picto." Eve went back to the ship and joined the others in waving goodbye while mentally insisting to Owen that he shouldn't worry about what they talked about.


	24. S2 C7

Riliane called out into the nearly silent room, "Xanthic?"

The one in question was lounging on his bed reading something. "Not home at the moment."

"Oh, sorry Nivens." She corrected herself and became aware of the other two girls in the room by Olive's giggling. "Uh, think we could talk for a bit?"

"I'm guessing you mean outside?" Riliane nodded and Nivens put down the comic book. With a sigh he put a hat on to hide his ears and they walked through the hall quietly and slowly as Riliane tried not to trip. When they found a small grouping of trees outside, they stopped and leaned back against them, "So what's up?"

"Well it's, um…" Riliane couldn't quite find the right words.

Nivens chuckled, "You sound like Xanthic. Out with it already."

"Right…" She took a deep breath, "Ha- have you ever been in love before?"

"I, uh never really…" From his stammering she figured it was Xanthic talking now. "Well… I- last year we visited the Schnee's and um… I can't say Winter is unattractive…"

Riliane chuckled, "I think a Picto and a Schnee would be a great match. Though what would you do about your last names?"

"We could hyphenate?" They both laughed a little. "But why are you- Oh, there's a guy you're interested in?"

"Not exactly… Um… Do you know how to tell if a girl is interested in you?"

It took him a minute to process the question. "Oh! I-I'm sorry. I didn't realise you…"

"It's fine it's fine. I didn't think I was either until recently… But with her… I just don't know…"

"Do you get um… Butterflies when you se- talk to her? Like you just can't think straight around them?" He tried to remember what his parents had told him about their own relationship.

"Sometimes, but isn't that just me being nervous because I don't wanna say something stupid in case I'm wrong?"

"That's a good- Huh?" Xanthic cut himself off as Nivens was apparently annoyed by their conversation.

"Alright, let me point out the obvious." Nivens began counting on his fingers, but knew full well that she couldn't see it. "You should only be nervous for two reasons, either you're scared or you're embarrassed. So unless she's threatening you, which I know she's not, the only reason to watch what you say is because you care about her and don't want her to think you're weird or stupid. And since this is actually bothering you enough to ask _us_ for help, it's serious." Riliane was silent as she took in his words. "As for if she's into you, who cares. Just go for it and worry about that later."

"What!? I can't do that!"

"Trust me, things have a way of working out if they're supposed to. If not, then you'll get over it and find someone better."

"You really think it'll be that easy?"

"That's how I've lived most of my life so far." Nivens laughed to himself, "I remember one time Blake blew my cover when I snuck off to Menagerie."

"And your parents weren't upset?"

"I thought my father would be, but he was apparently expecting it." Shrugging he started walking back to the dorm, "Like I said things work themselves out."

"Maybe… I still don't think I could just tell her though…"

"It's your loss if she moves on then."

"What!?"

"You don't really expect her to wait for you forever, do you? Celeste hardly seems to be the patient type."

"Guess I shouldn't- Wait, h-how did you know it was Celeste?"

"Oh please, the two of you are so lovey dovey I'm surprised you're even nervous."

"O-oh… I see…" Riliane replied to which Nivens continued to walk back inside with a wave. Leaving Riliane alone and wondering what she would say to Celeste.

* * *

Celeste paced outside the ROXA dorm for several minutes before sighing and returning to her own room. When she got there, she bumped into a taller form, "Hey, watch where you're..."

"S-sorry," the other figure apologized. Celeste, recognizing the voice, looked up to see Riliane.

"No, it's my fault. I was...distracted." Celeste said.

"I um, I was l-looking for you a-actually" Riliane said, having lost her short lived confidence, "O-on second thought it isn't important, I-I'm just gonna go."

"Wait I wanted to talk to you too."

"A-about what?"

"Well I wanted to tell you that I…well…I was wondering...if you wanted to...maybe… go see this new movie that I've heard about?" Celeste said the final part quickly clearly covering up her original planned question, then looked up at Riliane, eyes widened in embarrassment. "No. I'm sorry. We can…"

"No-no it's fine," Riliane cut her off with what seemed like both a sense of disappointment and relief in her voice. "It's been awhile since I've been to a theatre…" There was a pause and awkward silence until Riliane realized Celeste's concern "Oh! I-it's not a problem! My parents took me to one back home a few times, there were these special headphones and um...they had narration and uh…" Her explanation faltered "B-but I would love to go."

"Sounds great. Do you need to get anything before we go?"

"N-no, but I should tell my team where I'm going. You sh-should let yours know too."

"Yeah well, knowing Owen he probably already knows everything and has told the others," Celeste said, a hint of anger and concern in her voice.

"Well we can stop by my room on the way out then."

"Alright, let's go." Celeste said as she started making her way to the other girl's dorm. After Riliane had stopped in her room, the two girls made their way out to the airship dock. Climbing aboard, they sat next to each other. The airship took off, and it only took them a few minutes to reach the city. They climbed out and started making their way to the theatre.

"So w-what movie are we seeing?" Riliane asked.

"Well...listen don't tell the others, but the movie is kinda...a romance." Celeste said, rubbing the back of her neck in unease.

"Oh. That s-sounds lovely." They continued their walk in an awkward silence.

The silence continued as they entered the movie theatre and stood in line for tickets. It was a well furnished building, all velvet carpet and sleek counters. The aroma of buttered popcorn wafted in the air, making Celeste's stomach growl. She flushed a little and then cleared her throat. Riliane's lips curled upwards into a smile, "Are you hungry?"

"No," Celeste lied. Her palms were sweating and she nervously wiped them on her white pants.

"Next please." Celeste snapped out of her trance and walked up to the counter, laying her eyes on an impatient brunette in a red uniform with a permanent frown implanted on her face. "What'll it be today?" She drawled, clearly annoyed. Celeste blinked, slightly irritated by her tone but brushed over it, aware of the blonde at her side.

"H-Hi, can I have two tickets to Sweet Loving?" The woman tapped the machine on her desk. Actually saying the name of the movie made it seem painfully real. " _Why did I have to pick a romance movie?"_ Celeste thought bitterly. " _Why was this the only_ appropriate _romance movie currently showing? Why did life hate me?"_ After a few brief seconds the brunette held out her hand expectantly. With a sigh, Celeste grabbed her wallet out of her pocket, about to pull out Lien before Riliane placed the appropriate amount on the counter.

"Wha-" Celeste was dumbfounded. "No, Riliane I insist. It was my idea."

"O-Oh no, I couldn't let you pay!" Riliane said nervously. "Please, let me!"

"But I would feel bad, really, I should-"

"It's my pleasure!" Riliane said loudly, clearly high strung as she slid the lien over to the woman. Celeste rubbed the back of her neck and sighed.

"A-Alright." She muttered. The woman looked like she was about to throw something at them. She slammed the tickets on the counter and crossed her arms, her eye twitching. "And one more thing," Celeste continued, "Can we have those headphone...things? They're for people who…"

"They're for blind people," Riliane interrupted with a smile.

Annoyed, the woman then ducked behind the counter before placing a black headset on the smooth surface.

"Th-Thank you," Riliane muttered, oblivious as she aimlessly searched the counter for them. With a sigh, Celeste grabbed the tickets and the headset for her and then led her over to the concessions area.

"Umm…D-Do you want anything to eat or drink?" She asked, handing her the black headphones. Riliane took them gratefully and blinked.

"Oh...uh...I'm f-fine with anything."

"Want some popcorn?"

"It's been a while since I've had that," Riliane replied with a nervous laugh.

Celeste nodded, "Popcorn it is then." Rilane moved to pay but Celeste promptly placed her Lien on the table as she forced a smile. "I'll...pay."

Riliane blinked and then smiled. "O-Okay..." Celeste let out a soft sigh. At least, if nothing else, she had bought popcorn for her. Riliane sniffed the air as it was placed on the counter.

"That smells...amazing." Celeste smiled.

"Doesn't it?" She grabbed the bag and the two wandered over to the hallway to find their theatre.

 **A few minutes later**

"It definitely read theatre number 9," Celeste said, bent over as the two searched the floor where they had dropped the tickets.

"I'm...sorry," Riliane said with a sigh. "It's my fault you dropped them...I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Don't worry about it," Celeste reassured. "I should have...well I should have kept a better grip on them I guess."

"You think it was theatre number 9?" Riliane asked. She was trying to help search but she was looking in the wrong area completely.

"I..I think so. Guess it's worth a shot." Celeste replied.

"Do you want to just talk to them about it? I'm sure they can give us new tickets." Celeste was about to agree before she remembered the crabby ticket girl and suddenly was not fond of the idea.

"That's okay...I'm almost positive it's theatre number 9. It's already started anyways and I don't want to be there any later."

"Okay," Riliane replied timidly. The two were silent as they stood up. Celeste scratched her head as she observed the map on the wall.

"Theatre 9 should be down this way," Celeste said, clearing her throat. Riliane nodded and quietly followed her.

Theatre 9 was at the back of the theatre and the slot where the movie showing was usually listed was gone.

"Let's...go in I guess." Celeste muttered as she opened the door. Darkness embraced them as they entered the room. Neon lights lined the stairs, beacons in the dim light as the two aimlessly scrambled for open seats. The large screen in the front of the room spanned across the entire wall, illuminating the theatre as the two sat down.

There was a single girl on screen with her back to the camera. Her arm moved slightly and a soft noise—which was most likely scribbling—could be heard. Riliane placed her headphones on her ears and adjusted the settings, relaxing immediately as the tension went out of her shoulders. Celeste placed the bag of popcorn between them and then rested her chin on the palm of her hand. Hopefully this was the right movie. Although even if it wasn't, it didn't really matter, as long as Riliane was next to her. Celeste's lavender eyes flicked to the blonde. So this was it then, she had to confess sometime during this movie, while the others weren't here to interfere. Her fingers rapped against her armchair nervously.

The girl on the screen looked up, her hair falling onto her back. Then she looked over her shoulder, her eyes sliding to the camera. She was quite attractive, with her long chestnut hair and pale blue eyes that were the color of the sky. The camera moved to another girl, blonde with piercing green eyes, who had entered the scene. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she engaged the brunette in conversation.

"Good morning Abigail." She greeted with a smile. The brunette did not smile in return.

"Linnet." She turned around promptly. The blonde's smile faded slightly and she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before walking offscreen. Abigail, the brunette, waited until her footsteps faded until she turned her head to watch her go. Her dark lashes shadowed her pale blue eyes that were filled with an emotion Celeste couldn't quite pinpoint. They lowered slightly. The scene faded to black.

About twenty minutes had passed before Celeste, who was already bored, reached for the popcorn bucket and grabbed a handful. " _This is undoubtedly the wrong movie_ ," she thought as she munched on it. She had seen the cover of the one she had planned to watch and these two girls were unfamiliar to her. However, Riliane didn't seem to notice or care. She reached for a handful of popcorn at the same time Celeste did. Their hands brushed together and a surge of electricity went up their spines, making them flush profusely. The two instantly pulled away, pink.

"S-Sorry…" Riliane muttered.

"No...problem." The two were embraced in awkward silence. Riliane tightly interlocked her fingers together. She could have not been more aware of the girl who was sitting beside her. " _How close is she?"_ Riliane thought. " _Is she flustered too?"_ During times like this, she liked to imagine what the person was doing, what they looked like, little details that her semblance couldn't quite pinpoint; the nervous biting of the lip, the skittish flick of eyes. Maybe...maybe Celeste was even looking at _her?_ The blonde flushed slightly. She was suddenly aware of how close their hands might be on the armrests. Riliane's fingers moved towards the girl beside her. Maybe…maybe they would accidentally touch. But after a few seconds of nothing, Riliane retracted her hand, feeling foolish. She decided to listen to the audio in her headset and start paying attention to the movie. After all, Celeste had been kind enough to invite her to it.

Riliane had been right about one thing though, Celeste's eyes _had_ been on her, and they hadn't left. She had lost focus of the movie completely, too busy with watching Riliane. Her eyelids lowered as she silently observed the blonde out of the corner of her eye. Riliane's cheeks were a light pink, almost a peach. Her lips pursed slightly as she blinked twice, her long eyelashes fluttering rapidly. Celeste could see the reflection of the movie in her large grey eyes, as if they themselves were a screen that she could watch it upon. She almost wanted to. Celeste's eyes slid down to the armrests, where their hands were a mere inches apart. There was a slight movement, almost so small that she didn't catch it, but Riliane's fingers moved towards her. Celeste swallowed. Timidly, as if almost afraid, Celeste's hand rose above the blonde's, about to clasp it before Riliane took her hand away. Celeste flushed and then looked down, her hand returning to her lap.

There was something in the air. Almost a kind of...electricity. It was heavy and palpable. They both felt it as it weighed down on them, making their hearts beat rapidly, making their cheeks pink. It felt like they were walking on tightrope, one step away from making the wrong move. It was an acute awareness of each other, the kind that you can only experience when you're with the one you like. It was impossible to ignore.

" _Alright Celeste,"_ the blue haired girl thought, " _It's now or never."_ She tapped her fingers against the armchair once more.

"So um...Riliane." Celeste whispered, not looking at her. "I've been thinking lately." She cleared her throat, glad that the theatre was dark so the blonde couldn't see her flush. "You've...always been really nice to me. You're so brave and honorable and...I-" She cut off and swallowed. "I just wanted to say that...well I don't want to pressure you into replying or anything, so if you're uncomfortable with this, that's okay, really." She nervously tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear. Her hands clenched into her fists. " _Say it!"_ With a deep breath, Celeste mustered up the remains of her courage, squeezing her eyes shut. "Riliane...I...I like you!" The room seemed to spin as her heart thudded violently. "...A lot. I've liked you for a while actually. And I understand if you don't feel the same way...but I-" She looked at the blonde passionately and then blinked. Riliane wasn't looking at her at all. Her mouth was agape, her eyes glancing to and from the screen she couldn't see. Slowly, Celeste glanced at the screen and then froze.

The screen was showing the same females that had been shown before, except now they were madly kissing and in a dark bedroom. Celeste stared at it dumbly. Riliane only became more and more red as the scene progressed. The brunette pushed the blonde onto the bed before she kissed her neck and grabbed her hand, kissing her wrist, her eyes not moving from the green orbs that peered back at her. After a few more steamy seconds, Riliane finally took off her headphones, her cheeks inflamed. Eventually, it got to the point where Celeste stood up and grabbed Riliane's wrist. Hurriedly, the two got out of the theatre.

Not knowing what else to do, as they didn't want to go back in the theatre and it was too late to watch their actual movie, the two returned to the main lobby. The crabby girl was still there and didn't ask them any questions as they placed the headset on the counter and walked outside.

"I guess that was the wrong movie then." Riliane said finally, her cheeks still pink, still picturing when they had- She shook her head and stopped thinking about it.

"Yuuuup." Celeste said, on edge. If she knew that it'd turn into that she wouldn't have stayed.

The date was officially a disaster. Riliane had paid for it, they had lost the tickets, Riliane hadn't heard her confession, and they had both experienced...that. They walked down the streets back to the airship. Celeste angrily kicked a rock on the sidewalk, restraining her vigorous urge to punch something. Of course she just _had_ to have asked her to a movie in the first place. Why couldn't she had done something simpler? Something that wouldn't have gone as terrible as this? Celeste sighed and then glanced at the blonde, worried that she was permanently traumatized. "Listen...I'm sorry. I had no idea that would show-"

"I-It's okay!" Riliane said nervously. "I wasn't paying all that much attention to it."

"Still though...I...I'm sorry." Despite herself, Riliane smiled a little.

"It's okay Celeste, really. I-It wasn't your fault...Besides, it was still nice being with...you." The last few words came out of her mouth without her wanting them to, and she flushed. Celeste's eyes widened slightly and she swallowed. The two boarded the airship back to Beacon and sat next to one another, their hearts still thudding, aware of how close their hands were.

* * *

Once back at beacon they walked in awkward silence to the dorms. Stopping outside CODE's room Riliane turned to Celeste, "Well… At least we had fun?"

"Well it probably would have been better had we of actually gone to the right movie."

"True…" After a few more seconds of silence Riliane started again as if it say something but stopped short, returning to silence.

"Hey Riliane?"

"Yes?'

"Did you happen to hear anything other than the movie while we were there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, n-nothing then. Don't worry about it. I mean it's just- w-well… I actually just remembered I have um… things to do so-"

Her feeble excuse was never completed as Riliane was finally able to do what she had wanted to for awhile now. She leaned down and gently pressed her lips against the corner of Celeste's mouth. Instantly realizing this she corrected herself to be covering the shorter girl's lips with her own. Celeste didn't react, how was she supposed to when her brain just stopped working. Riliane pulled back, "U-um, sorry… I guess he was wro-"

It was her turn to be cut off as Celeste placed both of her hands on Riliane's cheeks and pulled her down to give a kiss of her own. "I've been wanting to say 'I love you' all day, idiot."

Riliane was about to reply but was interrupted by a cry of surprise as the door behind them suddenly swung open and several of t

heir friends spilled out onto the floor. There was a brief silence. "Oh, funny meeting you here," Owen chuckled from his place next to D'art on the floor. He scratched his head and gave them his best smile. Celeste and Riliane were unamused. The blue haired girl took a few steps towards them and then bent over, her lavender eyes twitching with annoyance.

"And just what were you doing?" Celeste demanded.

D'art and Owen exchanged glances before D'art looked at his leader. "Erm...I can explain."


	25. S2 C8

The tables grew quiet and Orelon used two fingers to uncover his watch, "Pardon, I must regretfully take my leave. It was… Interesting to meet all of you, farewell." He stood and kissed Claire before walking away. As he exited the building, Orelon stopped and rubbed his eyes with a sigh. "Why must they write menus in such a small print?" He complained and took a pair of dark teal glasses out from an interior pocket of his jacket. Putting them on he could see in finer detail than before. Not wanting to waste any more time, he made his way to a bar on the opposite side of town.

Basil was waiting for him at the door and handed him a dark brown cloak, "You're dressed too nice."

"Thank you," Orelon quickly wrapped himself in the fabric and put the hood up before the two entered the building. Recognizing them instantly, the bartender simply nodded at them as they passed by to enter a back room.

It was furnished with only the bare minimum; a wooden table, four chairs, and a short bench. Already waiting for them were Vincent and Jade, sitting together on the bench, and Mic Jay, who seemed to be measuring the length of Jade's kimono with his eyes. "Good afternoon, Sir," Vincent greeted Orelon as he and Jade bowed their heads.

"I wish I could say it was good to see you, Vincent. However, I had to part with my wife to be here now." Orelon turned to hang up the cloak.

"Y'know, the more you talk about her, the more she just sounds like a POW," Mic Jay thought aloud.

"Pardon?"

He failed to hear the threat in Orelon's tone, "Well it'd be different if she was like our fillet here, but ain't she just some pampered bunny? What's there to like about a fruity skirt-?" Metal clanged together as Basil reacted quickly enough with his sword to stop Mic Jay from being stabbed with Orelon's cane.

"You should learn to hold that worm of a tongue if you wish for it to remain with you," His voice was cold enough to put out a fire.

"Now really isn't the time to be arguing with each other," Vincent said calmly.

"Right," Orelon recompsed himself, "Your failure has caused something of a setback."

"It wasn't his fault," Jade defended her partner.

"I am aware. Those children will only prove to become more problematic."

"It's your son," Basil pointed out blatantly while leaning back against the wall.

"Xanthic? I find it difficult to believe he would so openly betray me."

"You said he's friends with Riliane Avadona, didn't you?" Vincent already knew the answer, "It was her team that Jade and I encountered."

"Perhaps that telepath found out and they have been manipulating him to continue being meddlesome," Orelon pondered aloud.

"You really trust that youngblood?" Mic Jay relaxed back. "He seems like a total narc."

"It is less about my faith in him, than I know for a fact he does not consider any of them to be his friends. That is simply how he is."

"What makes you so certain?" Jade questioned.

"As far as I can tell, that boy only cares about keeping himself safe and pleasing Claire."

"I suppose your apple didn't fall very far then," Vincent commented. "But that wolf boy is really rather pathetic. I would hope for your company's sake that Xanthic would have more control over his thoughts."

Orelon looked him over, "It sounds as if you have more to say. Please, proceed."

"Well, with how stubborn those girls seem to be I wouldn't be all too surprised if they confronted him after getting suspicious. And if his natural instinct is to protect only himself, as you say, then I wouldn't be surprised if he gave a confession of being forced to join and offered information as a means of showing his good nature."

"He could have managed a scheme like that. Thinking on his feet and lying through his teeth have always been his strengths."

"But why not tell us then?" Basil argued.

"If he was attempting to earn their trust, then his intel had to be accurate. No doubt you would have notified Vincent to alter his strategy."

"So now that they know he ain't jiving, what's to stop 'em from servin him to the peelers?" Mic Jay asked.

"You seem to be forgetting that the chief of police is far to busy counting lien to properly conduct an investigation."

"Whether that boy of yours is involved or not," Vincent reasserted his opinion, "Those children need to be taken care of."

"Those youngbloods ain't that tough," Mic Jay laughed at him.

"I'm more concerned about their persistence than their strength," He clarified. "Not to mention there is a chance of Evelyn being able to… stabilize Yukina."

"That is the woman responsible for all the disturbances?" Orelon asked for clarification.

"She's closer to a child, especially now."

"She may be more troublesome while impulsive rather than controlled."

"You gonna tell us the plan?" Basil was beginning to get impatient.

"Naturally. You are all involved, after all."

* * *

There was a soft groan as D'art rolled onto his side and yawned. He opened his eyes tiredly and looked at his scroll that sat on his bedside which read 2:07 a.m. Way too early. He let out a long sigh and looked around the empty dark room. The dorm was silent, covered in darkness save for the small cracks of moonlight that escaped the curtains. The windows were slightly open. A light breeze swept inside the dorm room, making an open book on Eve's empty bed flutter. He heard soft snoring from the bunk above him and restrained himself from kicking Owen. Celeste was sleeping silently on the bunk above Eve's bed. And Eve- Hold on. Where was she? D'art rubbed his eyes and sat up, squinting. Eve's bed was empty, it's covers half hanging off the edge, an open book on top of it. There was another soft breeze that crept in through the open window. D'art shivered and then walked over to it, sticking his head out. The Beacon courtyard was silent and lifeless. Not a sound could be heard. Not a thing could be seen. The moon glowed luminously in the distance. D'art retracted his head and then firmly shut the windows, pulling the curtains over them completely. He grabbed his coat and threw it over his shoulders, shoving his hands inside it's pockets before exiting the dorm.

His footsteps were muffled by the carpet as he progressed down the dark hallway. He yawned softly. Half of him just wanted to go to bed and sleep. The other half was more curious about his partner. Eve's nighttime fieldtrips weren't uncommon. When they had first been paired up he had often heard her getting out of bed and exiting the dorm, but she hadn't gone out recently. Within a few minutes he reached the school library. Carefully, he pushed open the large oak doors and peered inside. The library was Eve's favorite place. She could usually be found in the corner of the room, reading by the light of a lit candle. But today it was empty and dark, no lit candle, no Eve. D'art bit his lip and then turned away, shutting the door behind him.

He looked in all of her usual spots, at the bottom of the stairwell, in the great hall, on the roof, but to no avail. Eventually, a part of him forgot about finding her as he wandered the silent halls, the empty rooms, enjoying the silence and the tranquility. He aimlessly wandered outside. The wind picked up his brown hair. He strolled past the tall archways that surrounded Beacon academy and down the stone pathway until he reached the airship docks that overlooked the vast ocean in the distance.

Eve was sitting at the end of a dock, her legs dangling across the edge, braids flowing in the breeze. Her back was to him. D'art strolled up behind her.

"D'art." She said.

"Eve." He returned, taking a seat next to her. He peered down at the aquamarine ocean that sparkled in the moonlight and swallowed. "Pretty big drop isn't it?" She swallowed.

"I guess."

"I wonder if anyone's ever fallen down." He murmured, half to himself. He could see the small rocky path that led down to the surface. The waves crashed against the rocks.

"Probably." Eve replied. Her eye was lowered slightly. "Why are you here?"

"Eh, I felt like talking to my partner." They were silent before D'art added, "That and I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep after I woke up." He yawned loudly.

"Just thinking." She replied after a few seconds of hesitation. Her eyes were locked onto the ocean in the distance. There was silence.

"So why'd you go here?" D'art asked finally. "You usually go to the library."

"It's a beautiful evening, I wanted to see the moon." Eve responded with a sad smile. "This is my favorite place. Right here on the edge of the docks, in the middle of the night when no one else is here."

"Favorite place ever?" D'art asked. Eve nodded.

"When I first arrived here on the airship I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."

"Understandable."

"What about you?" Eve inquired.

"My favorite place?" She nodded once more. He leaned back and tilted his head to the sky, trying to think. "Hmm...it's in the Ridge. Cerise and I were hunting once and we found this small clearing in the middle of the forest." Calmly, he held his palm up to the sky and blocked the moon from view. He smiled a little. "It was right next to a lake and there was a small sandbar there. After a hard day of work, we would have a picnic, dip our toes in the water, lay back in the warm sand, and close our eyes." His eyes shut briefly, as if he was trying to remember it. "It was our place."

"How romantic." Eve said with a slight smile, head tilted as she observed him. D'art opened his eyes, his hand returning to his side as he glanced at her.

"It was pretty great."

"Was?"

"Well someone else discovered it eventually. A bunch of kids. They took it over. But...it was nice while it lasted." Eve nodded. The two were silent once more before D'art sighed. "Listen...Eve."

"Hmm?"

"There was a reason I wanted to talk to you. And...not just to discuss our favorite places." He waited for a response but Eve was silent. "You've been more withdrawn lately."

"Have you met me?"

"I mean more than usual, more than before." He looked away, back at the lake. "Ever since we ran into Humanity in the forest. Why?" Eve sighed softly.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, not really. But I'm your partner, I notice these things." He gently jabbed her ribs with her elbow and Eve smiled a little. The moonlight made her skin whiter than usual, a stark contrast against her ebony hair.

"It's not a big deal."

"Come on~" Said D'art. Eve bit her lip and shook her head.

"It's nothing."

"Eh, maybe. But you've piqued my interest." D'art flashed her a grin.

"Really...it's nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

"Please?"

Eve sighed. "D'art, there's a thing called personal boundaries." She replied, her tone becoming that of a teacher. "Just because you're my partner doesn't mean you can invade them.

"Oh come on," D'art said with a pout, "I've always told you everything."

"Well I don't ask much."

"True. Still though, I went through all this work to find you, cant you at least tell me a little?" Eve shot him a glance, or more of a glare, but D'art merely grinned at her. "I'm not going to leave unless you tell me." He added.

"I need to pick a new contemplative spot." Eve mused. "So no one can find me anymore when I want my privacy." D'art snorted.

"What, is that your name for it? Contemplative spot?"

"I mean that's what I do there." D'art smirked.

"So you have an existential life crisis every time you go to the library?"

"And if I do?" Eve asked.

"Lame."

"Better than hiding in the bathroom to look at-" D'art clamped his hand over her mouth, his cheeks flushing a bright pink.

"How the hell do you know about that?" Eve grabbed his hand and moved it away calmly.

"Everyone knows it." D'art blinked and then looked away, red. "Well, everyone but Cerise that is." Eve added.

"And it better stay that way." D'art murmured.

"Perhaps." They were silent. Eve took a deep breath and leaned forward, interlocking her hands. "D'art, do you think I'm dragging everyone down?"

"What? No, absolutely not-"

"After escaping Humanity I enrolled in this academy. Originally I wasn't planning to interact with anyone, I knew I would be put into a team but I figured I could just ignore them and they would ignore me. But...that's not happened with you guys. I opened up, I shared what happened to me." Eve had a wretched expression on her face.

"I don't….That's good, isn't it?"

"No...not entirely." D'art frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because I put all of you in danger." Eve whispered. "By telling all of you about Humanity, about what I had been through, I exposed you all to it."

"You didn't expose us to anything, it's not your fault Xanthic was kidnapped, that we went to the factory to get him, that we forced you to tell us everything afterwards."

"That's not the point." Eve replied, on edge. "That doesn't change the fact that I still willingly put you all in danger afterwards. I could have lied, I could have told you something else." Eve sighed.

"You're not dragging us down at all." D'art replied. The previously light hearted tone in his voice was gone now, and he was frowning. "None of this is your fault, and you're foolish for thinking so." There was more silence. "Was that what that Yukina chick said to you?"

"...Yes."

"Listen, I'm still not entirely sure who this she is but I don't think you should listen to her. She's a maniac."

"She's...she's not." Eve's hands clamped into fists.

"She isn't? Did you see what she did at the factory? She slaughtered them, Eve, all of them. She slaughtered that man too, with the flamethrower, and the woman. She hurt Celeste, made her see some...sick mirage, I don't know. That girl is a monster-"

"And she also stayed next to Celeste and Riliane, to protect them!" Eve replied adamantly. "Whatever she's done in the past, that's my fault. She's like that because of me-"

"Stop blaming yourself for everything." D'art whispered.

"But it's true. If I hadn't left, if I hadn't abandoned her then maybe-"

"Eve-"

"Maybe things would be-"

"Stop it!" D'art yelled, making Eve flinch. "I'm so sick and tired of you saying things like that!" He said, fighting to keep his temper in check. "'You're all in danger because of me! She's like this because of me! They're after us because of me!' How about you blame someone else for a change?! Is that so hard?! Why do you always assume that everything bad is because of you?! And you always endure everything by yourself, how about you rely on someone? Rely on me! I'm your partner! That's what I'm here for! I don't need to be protected! I don't want secrets to be kept from me! Be selfish! Tell me when you're hurting! When you need help!" D'art took a few breaths before looking away. There was tense silence between them. "Otherwise what am I even here for…?" He asked softly. Eve stared at him, shocked, lips parted.

"I'm-"

"Don't apologize." D'art muttered. Eve stiffened. With a sigh, D'art tugged on his bangs and then continued. "Listen...sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I just wish you'd realize that we're here for you. Eve nodded numbly.

"I don't think I've ever heard someone say 'be selfish' to me before." She said softly.

"Guess I'm the first then." D'art replied. He pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees, watching the lake. "And...sorry for calling your friend a maniac. I guess I don't know all that much about her."

"It's okay." Eve replied. "I can understand why you would think that."

"Yeah, she's pretty scary." D'art admitted. "No offense but I don't know if I'd want to have a friend like her."

"Yukina wasn't always like that." Eve said softly. D'art glanced at her.

"Tell me about her." He said finally. "Something good. So far all I know is that she likes killing and murdering people." Despite herself, Eve almost smiled.

"Well, she's very shy. Especially around people she's just met."

"Oh?" Eve nodded and looked up at the sky.

"She had no self confidence, but she became my friend, my only true friend there. I used to be partners with two others but over time I learned that they didn't care about me at all." Eve's face saddened slightly.

"Where are they now?"

"I'm not sure...after a while I just stopped talking to them. They might still be out there, they might not be. I wouldn't be surprised if Yukina had slaughtered them already…I don't know." D'art nodded slowly.

"You don't know...huh," He scratched his face, "Alright. Wait so then what did you do with Yukina?"

"We would train together, go on missions together, everything. Back then I thoroughly believed that what Humanity was doing was right." Her slight smile faded away. "And then everything changed."

"You left."

"Well, yes, but there's more to it than that." D'art nodded.

"Tell me. All of it."

"All of what?"

"Everything that happened to you. I've only heard bits and pieces and I want to know it all." Eve observed him for a little, silent, before she slowly nodded.

"Alright. There's a lot though."

"That's fine."

"Where to start…" She murmured, half to herself. "Well, as you know, when I was in Humanity I had been blinded, manipulated into thinking that what we were doing was right for the longest time. But I slowly became suspicious as I grew older. I began to ask questions. Why were we trained so intensely to kill if we were supposed to be helping people? Why did no one know who their parents were? What had happened to them? Why did some of us randomly disappear, without explanation? Why weren't we let out of the facility? Why, if we were supposed to be the saviors of humanity, did no one know who we were? I began to think of the outside world, what was out there that I had never seen before. Yukina said those thoughts were dangerous, so I convinced myself they were too, I pushed them away. But every day I became more and more curious, more and more suspicious and those questions never faded away. I became obsessed. Yukina tried to stop me, she said I should stop doubting them. I tried. I did. But…" Eve's hands clamped into fists. "One day I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to know. So I snuck into their main office, where they kept all of their files in the morning, when Yukina was asleep. Almost half of the guards were gone that day, on some kind of mission, I don't remember. But I was able read their plans and I found the truth; that Humanity would use us to slaughter all faunus, that they would kidnap faunus from their families, slaughter their parents, and make us into killing machines. They weren't a force of justice." Eve said with a sad laugh. "They were a lie, a huge lie, built up from decades of restrained prejudice and hate. I read file after file. And after every word I read, I felt like a piece of my blindfold was teared away—the blindfold that Humanity had placed on me, on everyone." D'art listened to her intently, a forlorn expression on his face. "And then they found me." Eve whispered, blue eye wide, filled with memories of the past. "I think they had been watching me for awhile, they knew that I had been suspicious of them. They let me find those files, and as soon as I was done they tried to apprehend me. Sadists...the lot of them." Eve grit her teeth. "They chased after me and I ran. I wasn't even thinking of Yukina until I was almost out. I remember the guards that I tried to fend off. I remember someone's claws slicing through my eye." Instinctively, Eve's fingertips gently brushed her eyepatch before her hand fell back into her lap."I remember realizing just how far away the dorms were from the exit, how I would surely be caught if I went there to get Yukina, how I would be killed." Eve brought her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees. "And then I ran. I escaped. They chased after me for days, I was almost caught twice. I ran from Vale to the outskirts where I survived for a few months on nothing but rabbits and venison, trying to stay off the grid. I convinced myself that I would go back there to save Yukina. But-" Her voice broke and she paused. D'art was silent and tried to see her expression but Eve's bangs were hanging over her eyes. "But I was scared." She said finally. "I was free, really free. I wasn't blind anymore and I didn't want to go back in there, I knew that there was no way I could sneak back in and get Yukina out, but I kept telling myself that I would so I could ease that guilt that I felt." She sighed softly. D'art's eyes widened.

"Hold on." He said slowly. "Back up, so that eyepatch-"

"Yes, it covers up the injury I received that day."

"Can I see?" D'art inquired softly. Eve hesitated before she glanced at him and sighed.

"I-"

"Pleeeasee?" D'art pretended to pray and Eve rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...alright." She slid the eyepatch off slowly, brushing aside her black bangs. A large claw mark ran over her cheek, leaving a large noticeable scar. Not one, but two of Eve's blue eyes stared back at him. D'art blinked.

"You...your eyes. They both work."

"Well the claw barely scratched this eye, but for a while it was in pretty bad condition. It was...incredibly painful." She shivered. "After a while it healed and I took it off. But every time I saw it I was reminded of Yukina. How I left her. People would stare at me, they would ask questions. I couldn't bear it."

"So you put it back on." Eve nodded.

"The ugliness could be hidden. When I saw the eyepatch I could think to myself that it was just a measly wound. It was easier to forget. People didn't ask questions as to why I got it. When they saw the eyepatch they just understood that I had been hurt, most likely by a Grimm. It got to the point where I couldn't bear to take it off." Her fingers wrapped around the strap of the eyepatch as she observed it solemnly. "Some people wouldn't understand why. They think that it would be stupid to voluntarily rid myself of one eye. They don't get it." She squeezed it tightly and then sighed. "It's like a mask that I can hide behind."

"No, I understand." D'art replied. "I just...never knew." Eve smiled a little. "Erm...sorry. Go on."

"Alright. Well, the years passed. Eventually I took to pushing Yukina out of my mind, forcing her out of my memories so I wouldn't have to think about her. I thought I wouldn't be in pain if I did that. Humanity had stopped chasing after me a while ago. I became obsessed with finding my parents, or at least, who had killed them. Remembering what little information I knew about them from the files I had read, I went back into Vale and tried to find them. I questioned people, almost tortured some. But I think a part of me didn't even care about my parents anymore. I didn't remember them, I knew they were dead and I had never really missed them before." She sighed. "There is still a part of me—a part of me that will never truly disappear—that enjoys hurting others. Not as much as Yukina, but regardless, it's still there. Humanity made me into a monster and I will never truly be rid of that. So back then, I hurt people for information that I wanted in justification for finding my parents. Nothing really filled the void that I felt. Eventually, I decided to enroll in Beacon Academy, not to help people, but so I could fight all the time, fight for a living, even if it was just against Grimm. When I killed I forgot the pain I felt—the guilt. It was just pleasure." D'art was silent. "It's...not like that anymore of course, I do find real joy in helping people now. I…" Her voice died away. Terrified, Eve glanced at her friend but she did not see disgust in his face, just sadness.

"It's okay." D'art whispered finally. He tightly grasped her hand, his face forlorn at learning what his partner had been through. "It doesn't matter what you were like back then. Because right now you're kind, strong, and wise—like a true huntress. I believe that." Eve smiled sadly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." D'art replied. Eve's lower lip trembled. Slowly, she rested her head on D'art's shoulder, fighting away the tears that threatened to fall. "I really do." He said softly. He wasn't judging her, he wasn't suspicious or disgusted. He was just being a friend. Slowly, she opened her fist. The white pebble shined in the light of the moon. She tilted her hand and watched as it slid down her palm, resting briefly on her fingertips before falling into the vast ocean below. Eve closed her eyes as D'art rested his head on hers. Comforted by the warmth of her partner beside her, Eve let the clutches of sleep finally take her.

She drifted off into a dream, a dream of the past, of memories. Yukina. She thought, while sleeping. It seemed almost yesterday that they had met, that she had saved her. Eve remembered it. She remembered it well. Thoughts of the past overcame her.

* * *

Eve zipped up the bulky black suit. She observed herself, silent. The simulation suits were a plain black, made of a strange material that she couldn't quite pinpoint. It covered her completely. There were cords that came out of her back that looked almost like veins. Pads surrounded her chest, arms, and knees. She moved her fingers and watched as the material crinkled around them. The suits certainly weren't the prettiest. But nevertheless, satisfied, Eve walked out of the changing room. She entered the same white corridor she traversed through every day. There was nothing on the walls, no windows, no pictures, paintings or decorations, just white. She finally reached the large glass doors at the end and hesitated before pushing them open. A large gymnasium spanned in front of her, filled with training dummies, countless of weapons that were stacked around the walls, weight machines, simulation rooms, and all the things that made her heart beat twice as fast. The ceiling towered above her. She could see small little dots on the rope course across the room that did flips above a 75 foot drop. Eve's lips curled upwards, this was where she felt the most at home.

She was here for her favorite class of the day. Classes that were designated under the combat category roughly took up about 80% of the schedule. Every day they had a basic self defense class, a class for evasion and gymnastics, a session specialized for the weapon they used (which for Eve was a whip), a lesson to practice and properly utilize their semblance, and the last one —which she was about to attend—a simulation class that focused on real life combat situations. Her class was gathering near the simulation rooms, which were by far the most fascinating things in the gym. After walking up to them, she stopped behind a friend of hers.

"You're late." They said.

"I was lost in thought." Eve replied softly. Her friend gave her a look. She had long silver hair that billowed to the ground and piercing turquoise eyes that always made Eve squint. She had secretly wondered if they were contact lenses and had always been mildly jealous of them, because everyone agreed that Silver had the prettiest eyes. Silver adjusted her glasses and sighed. Her skin was almost entirely white and her lips were a bright pink. Everyone also agreed that if she had never been taken in by Humanity, she would probably have married some famous person and would have gotten filthy rich.

"Sup Eve." Eve looked at the black haired boy beside her who gave her a devilish grin. A large x ran through his forehead, which—as always—her eyes were drawn to first. "Silver lecturing you?"

"I was not…." Silver murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No more than usual." Eve added. Silver scowled at her. Jet grinned again. His golden eyes glinted excitedly.

"You guys excited for-"

"Jet, be quiet." The teacher lectured. There was a bunch of snickers. "As I was saying, you'll be running through an entire simulation today with no breaks. I want you to take this as serious as possible. I'm sure most of you are aware, but this is your most serious assessment for the entire year. If you collapse or fail to take out the target it'll have a serious effect on your grade." She glanced at her clipboard and then sighed, pushing up her small glasses. She might have looked as helpless as a grandma, but everyone knew that if she was in a bad mood all hell would break loose. "You all have your groups set up, so we can go right away. Who wants to go first?" There was dead silence, no one moved a muscle. The teacher's small beady eyes narrowed and she sighed. "I'll pick then." Her eyes raked over Jet with some distaste. Eve's eye twitched. No please, she thought miserably.

"Jet. Who's in your group again?" Jet froze and then grinned uneasily.

"Eve and Silver."

"Lovely, I'm sure you three would love to go first." She said icily. It was no secret that she hated Jet with a passion, and would often give him extra assignments. Eve wondered why she was still friends with him.

"No...really...we couldn't." Jet muttered, but all of our peers immediately stepped back, leaving the three in the middle. Silver adjusted her glasses and sighed. Eve bit her lip. "I mean...sure." Jet said after a few brief seconds. The teacher nodded and promptly walked over to the ginormous glass room beside us. After typing in a combination into the keypad on the side, the large glass doors opened. She gestured inside. However, before the three could walk in, they heard a loud cry. Everyone turned.

A small girl was running across the gymnasium with bright pink hair and pale blue eyes, waving her hands wildly. She cried out as she tripped over some equipment, rubbed her forehead and then rushed over to them.

"I'm...I'm here." She huffed. The teacher stared at her blankly.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I-I'm Yukina Freesis." She stammered, consciously wiping down the front of her bulky black suit. "I'm a transfer."

"Ah that's right." Muttered the teacher. She glanced at the other groups and then looked at Jet. "Jet, why don't you take the new transfer today?" He wilted. There were snickers around the group. Everyone knew that transfers were trouble. They would bring down the rest of the group and this was a huge assignment.

"Sure…" He said finally. Yukina smiled a little.

"Oh brother." Silver had her hand over her eyes. Eve was having trouble not wincing. This girl looked like a complete klutz. This was the biggest assignment of the year. What terrible luck.

"Lovely. Yukina, do you know what simulation rooms are?" The teacher inquired. Yukina nodded timidly.

"...Yes. I was in a low rank simulation class before this."

"No need to explain then. You four can go straight in." The simulation room stared at them, open and waiting. "Go on." They cast brief glances at one another and then slowly walked in, Yukina trailing in behind them. The transparent floor briefly flickered as pixels ran across the surface wherever their feet touched the glass. The class clamored around the room to watch, grins on their faces. It was always fun to see a transfer student make a fool of themselves.

"This is going to be rough." Silver hissed. She glared at the transfer student who was looking around the room, her lips parted. Eve observed her. This was undoubtedly the biggest simulation room the girl had ever seen. Higher ranked classes were provided with better equipment.

"Let's just get this over with." Jet had his hands behind his head and was trying to ignore the glare that the teacher was giving him.

"You three did well last time." She said icily, "So well, that I think today we can give you more of a challenge. Especially since you have more than the usual number." Her pale eyes flicked briefly to Yukina. They watched her from outside of the glass room. She slid her finger across the keypad, closing their exit and locking them inside. All noise was immediately blocked out. Eve watched her click a few buttons and then smile. The room slowly began to fade to black as the people around the room began to disappear. Eve could hear the sound of her own heartbeat.

"Here we go." Silver murmured.

The simulation rooms had over 3000 different locations, all with different settings and obstacles. Hardly anyone had gotten the same one before. The simulations themselves were split up into four different difficulties:S, S+, and X. X was designated only for the officers at Humanity, and which was off limits for the trainees. The simulations in general were only available for the best of the best and had an extremely limited amount of trainees that could even participate in them. It was by far, one of the most difficult classes to get into.

In the last simulation the three had experienced, they had been dropped off at a carnival where they killed a faunus who was supposed to be watching a performance. The time before that, the middle of a blizzard in an arctic tundra where they were supposed to slaughter an entire pack of Grimm. And for their first large mission simulation, it had been Vale itself, except that it was overrun with every kind of Grimm imaginable. There was really no way to predict what simulation they would be in. There was a myth that someone had been dropped off in the middle of a strip joint. They had stayed there the entire time instead of focusing on the mission, and had obviously gotten a terrible grade. It was a running joke why it was there in the first place. The room eventually became completely dark and the floor rumbled beneath them. Two individual pillars raised from the ground in front of each person, each with a small helmet and their weapon. Eve picked up her helmet and observed it. It was slick and black and looked strikingly similar to one that would go with a motorcycle. She placed it over her head. As soon as it was on, the interface popped up, buzzing slightly. It flickered. Blue lines ran across the glass, zigzagging before they disappeared.

Eve grabbed the metal chain whip on the pillar before snapping her fingers. It curled around her arms, hovering there. The pillar quietly slid back into the floor. She glanced in the direction of the others, but they were gone. Or at least, she couldn't see them. The simulations themselves were made from similar technology to the scrolls, but merely expended upon. The entire helmet was more like a giant scroll, projecting images and connecting the movements and actions of the people who wore them. She looked down and couldn't see her own body. The black suit was designed for the simulation rooms and also caused pain if they were hurt in one. Although she herself had never experienced it, she had seen Jet break down from the pain a suit had given him once. Afterwards he had brushed it off with a laugh, but she had never been able to forget his screams. The pain was what made it so real.

A few more minutes passed before she guessed that everyone around her was ready, and then there was a slight rumble. The helmet began to buzz. A speck of light appeared in the distance, sparkling, fizzing out and spiraling as pixels lit up across the glass, creating an image. She winced as the room was filled with light.

They were in an elaborate ballroom. The ceiling towered above them and had chandeliers with candles that flickered back and forth. The floor of the ballroom was comprised of checkered black and red tiles that glinted in the candlelight. Women in sparkling gowns spun across the room, their crimson dresses fanning out around them like flowers in bloom. The men wore black suits with brightly colored ties and sharp white gloves. Masquerade masks of every shape and size were on every face that they could see. Almost everything was either in black or red.

The simulation wasn't perfect, of course. Things occasionally faded in and out of view, and a few objects in the distance were half transparent. Eve reached out as a man walked by, her hand brushing against his arm. The suit could make them feel as if they were touching physical objects, but it always felt so weird to her. He glanced at her and then frowned before walking away. There was an aroma of freshly scented candles and apples that wafted in the air. Eve inhaled deeply. An eerie song was playing in the background, flowing through the room. It sounded like someone was playing on the piano, striking key after key, one finger at a time. Eve knew that it was coming from her helmet, but it sounded like it was far away. Her friends were beside her, wearing masquerade masks. Silver was wearing a sparkling black dress and Jet was wearing a black suit and red tie that went together quite nicily with his hair. Yukina, who was a few feet behind them, was wearing a red evening gown with black accents. But of course, they weren't actually wearing those things. Eve looked down and saw that she was wearing a black halter dress.

"Ooohhh neat," Jet said with a grin, "A party." The helmet caught everyone's expressions and was able to simultaneously place it into the simulation. Or at least, that was what Eve she figured. She brought her hand up to her face and observed the sparkling black glove she was wearing. Entranced, she clenched her hand into a fist, watching as the sequins flashed brightly. There was a slight fizz, allowing her to see the suit, and then it disappeared and she was wearing a sparkly glove once more. The science behind the simulations had always confused her to an extent. All she knew was that the creators of Humanity were incredibly rich and had countless tools at their disposal.

"A masquerade party to be exact," Silver added. She was looking around, her bright turquoise eyes taking in her surroundings. There was a brief pause before a message appeared in bright blue text on Eve's helmet, which she knew had also popped up for everyone else. It flickered briefly. "Location: Atlas, Masquerade Ball. Time of day: 10:05 p.m. Evening." It slid away and then another appeared. "Mission: Kill the faunus CEO and escape alive. Bonus points if death is not discovered. Difficulty: S+" It disappeared after a few brief seconds.

"She gave us an S+ mission?" Jet exclaimed, bewildered. "What the hell?"

"I thought those were off limits," Silver hissed. Her glasses, Eve noticed, were gone in the simulation.

"Not off limits. Trainees don't usually do them is all," Eve replied. Her palms were sweating. They had only done one S mission before, the rest had been A's. They had never even attempted an S+. Pointedly, she scowled at Jet.

"Wha- It's not my fault!" He replied upon seeing it.

"It's your fault that the teacher hates you so much," Silver countered, "If it wasn't for you, we'd probably be doing an A right now. I hope you know that if everyone wasn't already in groups, I would never have joined you in the first place." Jet rolled his eyes.

"Please. You don't mean that. You know you love me." Silver opened her mouth, enraged, but Eve held up her hand.

"Stop it," They glanced at her,"Focus."

"Fine," Silver snapped, crossing her arms.

"At least we don't have to survive a blizzard again. I hated that," Jet muttered. But he had a point. There were no obvious dangers that they could see. No Grimm, nothing. It made Eve uneasy.

"That's because this is probably a stealth focused mission," Silver said.

"We don't know that for sure," Replied Eve.

"Guys-" Yukina was cut off.

"Split up?" Jet inquired. "We can find the minster faster that way."

"No…" Eve said softly. "I don't trust this simulation. We should stick together."

"We'll be able to cover ground a lot faster, we're on a time limit," Silver countered.

"Guys-"

"What is our time limit for this again?" Eve asked, ignoring her.

"An hour," Replied Jet. Eve glanced at him and noticed there was a watch on his wrist.

"Jet, keep track of the time for us."

"With what?" He asked.

"Your watch."

"I'm wearing a watch?" He glanced at his wrist, and then grinned. "Awesome." It fizzed out of view briefly and then flickered back.

"Um-" Yukina was fidgeting.

"So we're splitting up?" Silver asked.

"Guess we don't have a choice," Eve replied, "This place looks pretty big. We'll split up in groups of two. Meet back here in twenty minutes."

"I call not being with the newbie," Jet hissed.

"Guys!" Yukina said, frustrated. Finally, they all looked at her, mildly annoyed. She froze and then cleared her throat. "U-Um...is that him?" She timidly pointed to the middle of the room. They all followed her finger. Surrounded by guests, was a young male faunus who had men in black scattered around him. He looked to be no older than twenty. He laughed hardily and then accepted a glass of bubbling champagne from a waiter who stopped by him.

"So it is," Said Eve flatly.

"Well that made our job a lot easier," Silver muttered.

"How should we kill him without alerting anyone else?" Jet inquired. His golden eyes observed the faunus man with some disgust.

"We're going for the bonus points then?" Eve inquired.

"Obviously."

"Well, the easiest way would be to draw him away from his men," Silver observed." The three all spoke in soft, hushed whispers.

"We should get Silver to seduce him." Jet said blatantly. Silver tilted her head to the side to ponder this. A few seconds passed.

"Yeah I'll do it."

Jet blinked. "You usually don't accept that easily."

"It's because she thinks he's cute." Eve said, deadpan. Silver flushed slightly.

"No! Of course not. He's a faunus-I-I wouldn't-"

"Silver," Eve interrupted. Silver pouted.

"Yeah fine," She scratched her face, "He's pretty hot. Shame this is a simulation."

"You're terrible," Jet muttered, "He's like fourty. You're not even seventeen yet."

"He is not fourty," Silver snarled. Yukina cleared her throat. It was a little, petite sound. Everyone ignored her as she began to speak.

"Maybe we should get going-"

"Anyways," Eve interrupted, "Once you get him away from his men, get him out of the ballroom, someplace secluded—a room preferably. And then give us a signal."

"The usual?" She asked. Eve nodded.

"Jet and I will be watching nearby, dancing. We'll finish this quick and quietly. I don't know why this ranked S+, but if everything goes smoothly we should be fine." Eve finished. Silver nodded. "Ready?" Eve asked.

"Ready."

* * *

After Silver had disappeared into the crowd, Eve and Jet had told Yukina to sit down somewhere and 'watch' before they joined the dancers, and began waltzing to the music in the background. Their eyes were locked onto Silver, who was a few feet away from them, engaged in conversation with the faunus prime minister. The people and enemies in the simulations were intelligent and acted like real people. Conversational skills were necessary in many situations for getting what one wanted. If someone was acting suspicious, the simulation would notice almost instantly.

Silver timidly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked up from underneath her eyelashes. She smiled warmly and laughed at a joke that was lost in the clamor of the ballroom. The faunus male seemed to be entranced with her. He was fairly attractive, with side swept chestnut hair, piercing green eyes, and sharp cheekbones. The two shared a smile. His brown ears on the top of his head twitched slightly.

"Guys don't actually fall for that," Jet muttered, his eyes narrowed as he watched the two out of the corner of his eye.

"You fell for it," Eve replied calmly. Jet opened his mouth to reply and then frowned.

"Did not."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," The two executed a spin and then continued to waltz. Eve observed Silver closely, who slowly rested her arms around the faunus' neck as the two began to dance.

As predicted, it took approximately ten minutes before the faunus couldn't seem to wait anymore. He began to pull her away from the crowd. The black bodyguards around the faunus started in the same direction but after he said a few inaudible words they reluctantly stayed behind. The simulation flickered slightly and the buzzed. The room briefly disappeared and then glimmered back into existence. And then, Eve and Jet saw the signal. It was a small, almost unnoticeable gesture, but across the swarms of people they could see Silver wink at them. Within seconds, the two were gone.

"Let's go," Eve murmured. They wove their way through the crowd, after the two.

"What about the transfer?" Jet muttered.

"Forget about her," Eve replied, "Once we finish we can find her," Jet nodded slowly.

The ballroom led into a long winding hallway, carpeted with crimson. Framed windows lined the right side of it. When Eve glanced out of one, she saw nothing but black. The outside world hadn't bothered to be designed.

"I'm in the first room to your first left," Silver whispered. Each headset came with a mouth piece that all participants could use to communicate with.

"Coming," Eve replied. The two continued down the winding corridor. The music of the ballroom had now faded, and now sounded like a distant memory. The candles flickered as they walked by.

"Weapon reveal." Eve muttered. The air around her buzzed and slowly, her chains came into view. In every simulation their weapons would be hidden by default before they chose to use them. Her chains clinked together slightly, making almost an eerie sound as they rounded a corner and stopped at a door that was closed. She pressed her ear against it. Nothing. Jet stared at her, silent. Eve briefly waited and then carefully slid her hand over the doorknob. She nodded at Jet who lowered his stance slightly. They were ready. Instantaneously, she pulled the door open and flung her chain inside.

It was dark, lit only by the small crack of a window in the back of the room that cast moonlight across the floor. The faunus was standing there calmly, Silver in his arms, a knife to her throat. His green eyes were lowered slightly. Eve's sword hovered an inch from his forehead, where she had made it stop after seeing them. Silver breathed slowly, her neck slightly brushing against the knife every time she took a breath. Oh no, Eve thought.

"Who are you?" The faunus asked softly. His eyes slid to Jet whose lips were taught. Then back to Eve. "Why are you after me?" Eve's chain moved a centimeter closer but the faunus gently pressed the tip of the knife into Silver's throat, cutting through her skin. A bead of blood formed and then dripped down her neck. Silver's face was emotionless, but Eve knew that she could feel it in real life. "Are you here about the deal?" The faunus questioned. He brushed his lips against Silver's neck, taunting them, before they curved upwards into a smile. "Hmm?"

This was bad. Every simulation that existed was its own world. Many had their own created problems and would run on those problems despite the actions of the participants. This faunus was a CEO. He was apparently connecting them to the created past of his own life. The danger was that you couldn't just say it was a simulation, they wouldn't believe you—like in real life.

"I told you that I'd get the money," He snarled softly, "I didn't expect you to try to kill me." Eve swallowed. Silver eyed her silently, jaw clenched. The simulation buzzed in and out of existence briefly.

"Let her go," Eve demanded. Good. Her voice was clear, strong, not reflective of the panic that she currently felt. She knew that her classmates were watching her right now—her teacher. With her pen poised over her clipboard, waiting. Everyone was waiting. Jet was waiting. Silver, waiting. The Faunus' eyes narrowed. How could they have been so stupid? This was an S+ mission. The main target wouldn't fall for seduction, not so easily.

"I want a written contract," The faunus demanded finally, "That you won't harm me. I don't trust you after this."

"Let her go." The Faunus' eyes narrowed.

"What did you think would happen?" He asked with a sneer, pressing the knife slightly deeper. Silver stiffened. "Do you think me a fool? Falling for such a trick? She's beautiful, yes. But if you were going to kill me I would think that you'd try a little harder than that," He spat.

"We weren't going to kill you," Eve replied calmly, "This was merely a warning."

"Warning?" His eyes narrowed, "You dare warn me?"

"We can work out a...mutual agreement. Let her go and we can sign a contract." Eve's grip around her chain tightened fractionally. The faunus hesitated and then his lips parted in realization.

"You're not them," He said finally, eyes wide, "You...you can't be. They would never agree to that. But I don't understand...who are you? What do you want?" Eve froze. Silence. Then his eyes hardened and he turned towards Silver. Eve snapped her fingers. Her sword that hovered in the air flew towards his skull. But it was too far, those inches were too far. It would take too long. Silver would be impaled. The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion. The knife pierced through Silver's skin, moving further in before the faunus stopped and went still. Eve's weapon did as well as she watched him, horrified. He began to shake slowly before his eyes went wide with terror. Using the opportunity, Silver pushed him away, the bloodied knife falling out of his grasp, leaving a deep gash on her neck. The faunus twitched uncontrollably before he began to scream. His screams echoed throughout the room, into the open halls. He fell onto the ground and writhed in pain, his fingernails digging into his suit, creating parts of it that ripped open. Eve covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. She had never heard such screams before. Such terrible cries of pain. And then they abruptly stopped.

Eve slowly opened her eyes and then blinked. Standing in the middle of the room, was Yukina. She was looking down at the faunus on the ground who wasn't moving. On each arm were pairs of claw like blades, jagged and sharp they did not seem to match their wielder in the slightest. They came out a considerable distance past her hand and one set of blades were currently embedded in the faunus' skull. The Faunus' eyes were wide with fear, mouth agape. There was silence as she quietly pulled them out of the corpse. She stared at them, silent, as if she hadn't committed the act herself, and then wiped them on her black dress. There were shouts in the distance. Yukina glanced at them over her shoulder.

"You were taking a while," She said softly, "So...so I thought I'd check it out." A blue message flashed across their interfaces. "CEO Assassinated. Extraction point determined." There were loud thudding footsteps that seemed to be coming from the hallway next to them. Suddenly, Eve remembered the other part of the mission. Escape alive.

"Go!" She yelled, breaking everyone out of their trance. "Go go go!" Jet nodded and darted out of the room, in the opposite direction of the footsteps. Silver staggered after him. Yukina watched them and then looked at Eve who swallowed. There was silence before the pink haired girl dashed out the door. Eve glanced at the faunus on the ground, at the bloodied gashes in his head and then looked away. The simulation flickered slightly. She sprinted out of the room.

The four trainees dashed down the hallway, dodging gunshots that whizzed past them. It looked no different then the first hallway they had been through, except that this time, no one was taking the time to observe it.

"Kill them!" A voice yelled from behind them.

"What the hell happened back there?!" Silver demanded, casting Eve a quick glance over her shoulder. She had her hand over her neck, trying to stop the bleeding but failing to in the chaos. "Why'd he-"

"That...was my semblance," Yukina stated softly, looking as if she was ashamed of it. "I can make people see their fears..." Silver gave her a glance and then looked away. Right now their top priority was getting out.

"Where's the extraction point?!" She demanded.

"I don't know!" Eve yelled back. Gunshots spiraled past them as they turned a corner. At the far end of the windowless hallway were wooden doors outlined in a bright blue.

"Oh, convenient." Silver muttered. The exits out of a simulation appeared after parts of a mission had been completed, and were always outlined in a bright blue. Jet was several feet ahead of them, dashing towards it. The footsteps behind them were getting closer.

"Get them!" A man yelled.

"Do something!" Silver gasped. Eve grit her teeth and then ran her fingers across the wallpapered walls, activating her semblance. There was a slight rumble as wooden boards tore through it, splintered and sharp, and flew threw the air towards their pursuers. There were shouts. Eve risked a look behind her and saw a few of the men dashing past them, others helplessly holding up their hands as the large wooden boards ran through their stomachs. More gunshots, she felt something nick past her ankle and then felt a searing pain. She ignored it. Jet was already at the door and opened it, filling the hallway with light. It was so close, and yet so far. More gunshots. She saw Yukina running a few feet ahead, her pink hair fluttering through the air as she sprinted. The light grew, expanding through the hallway. Jet had already disappeared through the door. Silver was a few feet away from it. The light sucked her up.

Slowly, the simulation began to crumble, the ground rumbling beneath her as parts of the wallpaper were torn away, black nothingness replacing it. It was slowly slipping away, as it always did when the time limit had gone out. Had they really taken that long? Eve gasped as a searing pain went through her leg, making her stagger. A gunshot. She fell onto the ground and looked up helplessly. The hallway was folding in on itself, flickering like a monitor. She saw the glass room briefly, a ghost, a fold in her world before it disappeared. A large crack ran through the ceiling before parts of it fell onto the carpeted floor. Eve staggered slightly as she tried to get up. A piece of concrete fell on her leg, making her scream in pain. Yukina was only a foot away from the door. She looked behind her. Dust and debris rained from the ceiling. Eve wouldn't make it. Everyone would have escaped before her. Eve tried pulling her leg from the debris but it wouldn't budge. Gunshots rained behind her. Yukina stared at her, silent. Help me, Eve thought desperately. But Yukina wouldn't help her. And who could blame her? They had all treated her awfully. Yukina's pale blue eyes narrowed. Right…? Eve stared back, helplessly. Her eyes widened when she saw the girl run toward her, away from the blinding light, into the chaos. Eve couldn't believe it. She couldn't understand as the girl grunted, using both of her arms to lift the concrete off her leg. She couldn't understand as the girl hoisted Eve onto her back. She couldn't understand as the girl ran into the light, as she heard the simulation collapse behind her.

...

Eve gasped, breathless, as she weakly looked up. She was in the glass room again. She could see her peers on the outside of it, watching those inside, amused. She had made it. There was a small timer on the upper right corner of her interface that was blinking red: 00:00. Jet and Silver were leaning against the wall, breathless, their helmets off. Eve tore hers off and threw it onto the ground, panting. Yukina was beside her, breathing heavily. Her pink hair was sprawled on the floor.

"Lovely. Good job." The teacher opened the glass door and walked inside the room, observing the four. "You made it." She said icily. Many had often asked why the simulations collapsed after the timer had run out, and one day the teacher had let it slip.

"When the timer runs out, everything collapses. It ensures that anyone still left will feel pain. It gives the participants something to be afraid of. If it was merely a failed mission, you wouldn't want to complete it so desperately. You wouldn't be so terrified." She had said it with a smile, as if it had been the most ingenious thing ever invented. In that moment, Eve had never felt so much hatred in her entire life.

The teacher was observing them with that same smile now. Eve sighed slowly and pressed her hot cheek against the cool glass of the floor. She glanced at Yukina who was staring at her, silent.

"Thank you." Eve murmured. Yukina blinked and then looked away. Jet and Silver were already out of the glass room, grinning as their peers patted them on the back. Even though she understood, she couldn't help but feel betrayed that they hadn't looked back. That they hadn't checked to see if everyone had made it—that she had made it. Eve's eyelids lowered as she slowly caught her breath. And yet, here was someone that she had never known before, someone she had ignored even. Eve's eyes fluttered shut from exhaustion, aware of Yukina who was watching her.

D'art gently set his partner into bed, placing the covers over her. It was almost four in the morning now, and he was impossibly tired. After she had fallen asleep, he had watched the ocean in thought before picking her up and carrying her back into the dorm room. D'art sighed. He was about to go back to his bed before he heard a soft sob. Surprised, he glanced at Eve. Tears were running down her face as she mumbled in her sleep.

"She didn't leave me," Eve whispered to herself, "Leave me. Left. I left." She shook a little, her hands trembling. D'art observed at her, silent. Then he knelt beside her bed and took her hand in his. Eve's lips stopped moving and she exhaled softly, her hand instinctively tightening around his. A tear fell from her chin and onto the bed sheet before disappearing into the white fabric.


	26. S2 C9

"Well done team SDTM," Glynda said while Tigre was still being praised by his brothers for getting the final blow in their match. "Next up will be team ROXA versus team CODE." The eight students adjusted their gear while heading to the arena platform. Celeste and Riliane got into their positions as they were supposed to as team leaders, but they remained in their combat stances even after the match was called to begin. "Ms. Avadona, Ms. Shade, would the two of you like to start?"

"T-to be honest," Celeste lied, "I'm not feeling that great right now. I'm just kind of, um, tired…"

"Um, m-me too actually…" Riliane mumbled.

Glynda sighed, "Very well then. Each of you can switch out with another teammate."

"Thank you, ma'am. Xan it's- er Olive, you can go." Riliane hopped off the slightly raised platform.

"You've been wanting some practice, right Owen?" Celeste got down before he answered the question.

Owen and Olive faced each other and waited eagerly for Glynda's signal to go. She looked at them both and spoke in a calm tone, "Begin.

Olive instantly disappeared and reappeared clanging her blade into Owen's glaive. "Oo~ You're getting faster," She sang with glee, flipping over his head and ducking under a swing. As he sidestepped away from her stabbing attempt, she teleported just out of range for his counterattack.

" _Not really,"_ He said in her mind, " _You just don't guard your thoughts and you haven't gotten any new tricks."_

She stayed on the defensive, moving away from his swings. " _Oh yeah? What do you weigh, 150?"_

" _Why? What!? You can do that?"_ He hesitated.

" _I've only done it on accident once to my sister."_ Olive closed her eyes and tried to visualise what she wanted to happen.

" _Sorry to interrupt, but maybe it'd be better to try that outside of class."_

" _Probably."_ They went back to their combat again, but it seemed to everyone like they were practicing set motions. " _You ever figure out how to advance your semblance?"_

" _I think so, but I'll need to spar with Xanthic or Eve."_

" _Alrighty~"_ Olive teleported to the edge of the ring, "Switch Xan~"

"I think I'll pass, thanks." Nivens crossed his arms.

"Oh come on," She whined. "One match can't hurt."

"You've clearly never been in a real fight." He looked up at the crowd and then at Riliane and sighed, "Whatever, let's get this over with then." Nivens stepped up and rolled his shoulders, " _I'm guessing you want something?"_

" _I didn't think she'd do that, sorry."_

" _Honestly, for someone that can read minds you're pretty bad at understanding how people think."_ Nivens charged at him with the same form Owen recognized from watching him fight before. When he got close enough, he slammed the pommel of his weapon into the ground to knock Nivens off balance. But it didn't stop the blond, he grabbed the metal rod and kicked off of Owens side to create distance between them.

" _How do you do that?"_ Owen asked while beginning his own attack. " _All I can see is your confidence."_

" _Really? You can't even figure that much out on your own?"_ Nivens chuckled and cartwheeled out of the way.

He altered his stance last minute and lunged to the side. " _I know you can make blocks between your and Xanthic's awareness, but in combat even you shouldn't be able to seperate your focus that much."_

Nivens barely reacted in time to stop the blade with his hands. " _Idiot, not everyone had the same training."_ He jumped, putting his full weight on the edge of the glaive. As it's tip hit the floor Nivens twisted his body and slammed his heel on Owens' closest hand, if it had still been there at least.

Owen had let go in time and grabbed Nivens' ankle. He threw him to the ground, causing him to slide on the tile, and recollected his weapon. " _There's no way_ _ **that**_ _was muscle memory."_

" _That's true,"_ He stood up and brushed himself off. " _But it was an application of it through reflex and instinct."_

" _So you just make a habit of hammer kicking giant sticks?"_

" _And if I do?"_ They both chuckled. " _Really though,"_ Nivens charged in again, " _I'm willing to bet there are very few huntsmen that actually think while fighting."_ Owen swung down at him and he blocked with both his arms.

" _Vincent wasn't, everything in his mind was perfectly filed away. It was all there, I just couldn't get to it."_

" _So that's what you've been worried about."_ Nivens rolled into a handstand and kicked out, only to have his leg swatted up and receive a solid blow to his chest. " _I don't think you'd have that problem if you didn't announce yourself so much."_

" _What do you mean_ _ **announce**_ _myself?"_ Owen questioned with his glaive pointed at the back of Nivens head.

"Ah, who knows." He yawned overdramatically, "But if you wanted advice you should have just said so, having a conversation in combat makes it so boring. And since you're making me waste so much energy the least you could do is make it enjoyable. Y'know, like Celeste, she's always fun to beat."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Celeste demanded, approaching the two.

"I said you're easy to beat." Nivens responded matter of factly.

"Care to to put your lien where your mouth is?" Celeste challenged.

Nivens chuckled and grabbed Owen's glaive to move it away from himself, "I thought you'd never ask."

"Owen swap out," Celeste commanded.

"Take him down Cel," Owen said before stepping out of the arena.

"I plan on it," Celeste said as she took to her fighting stance.

"Good luck carrying that out, _Snowflake_." He teased while taking his own position.

"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?" Celeste growled, the blades of Ferrum Glacies extending out.

"Careful now, you get too hot headed and you might melt, _Snowflake_." Celeste launched a flurry of slashes at him, which he dodged with a condescending grin. "C'mon, I know you can do better than that." Nivens punched her arm to the side and kicked at her chest.

"Of course I can," Celeste snarled. She dropped down and kicked his leg, throwing off his balance just enough. Then punched his side, coating him with ice, and again, this one burning it off.

* * *

Eve flipped to the next page of her book as she scanned the top few lines. Her fingers tapped the spine softly as she bit her lip. Sounds of combat resonated around her, pounding in her ear drum, distracting the story that was playing out in her mind. She looked up, her eye watched Celeste, whose face was contorted with anger, as her slash was parried by a strike from Nivens. She kicked him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. The two were quite evenly matched, but Nivens seemed to be slightly more exhausted. His stance was lowered, and his chest was heaving up and down slowly. Eve could see the droplet of sweat that slid down his chin. His lips curled into a grin.

Celeste, who was a mere five feet away from him, was also exhausted, but still appeared to be in better shape. Her eyes narrowed before she charged towards him. Eve glanced at the television screen where their statuses were displayed. Nivens' aura was dangerously close to the red zone, Celeste's a few inches away. Although Nivens had more skill as a fighter, in a battle of aura, Celeste would be the winner. Eve's eye slid back to the fight, where she saw Nivens parry another slash and block a kick with his arm. His expression was cocky, as usual.

"What are you reading?" Amelia scooted over to Eve who glanced at her and then looked away.

"Oh…just...a random story I picked up. I've been running out of things to read."

"What's it called?" She inquired politely.

"Forlorn," Eve flipped the book over to its cover. Amelia peered at it.

"It's always sunshine and rainbows with you, isn't it?" She added. Eve stared at her.

"Amelia…were you just...sarcastic…?" Amelia's emerald green eyes flicked towards her, but before she could reply, they were interrupted.

"Hey, Eve! Get over here!" D'art waved at them, a large grin on his face. Eve glanced at her partner before letting out a quiet sigh and closing her book. She gave a small wave to Amelia, whose face seemed to sadden slightly, as the raven haired girl walked away.

"What…?" Eve asked, as she approached him.

"You're fighting next," He responded.

"Said who?"

"Said me," D'art replied, an innocent expression on his face. Eve gave him an irritated look.

"Oh come on...you never participate in these things. It's always you and Nivens sitting out, but today Nivens participated in two fights. You gotta do _something._ "

"Hmm," Eve pretended to consider this, "I'd rather do nothing."

"I'm sure your grades are suffering." D'art replied, making her stifen slightly, "You're an excellent fighter, but you never show anyone that. I know you have almost perfect grades in everything but this class." Eve fidgeted with her hair. D'art raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure if you participated in a fight...it'd raise...even just a little." Eve frowned a little, but it looked more like a pout, which made D'art laugh. "Come on, it'll be quick. Hey! Riliane!" The blonde girl, who was sitting a few feet away from them, and meticulously watching the fight between Celeste and Nivens, glanced towards the general direction of D'art.

"Yeah?"

"You wanna fight Eve after this?"

"Oh um, sure!" Riliane smiled warmly before exchanging a few words with Gynda who nodded and glanced at Eve. "Oh, Miss Glamis, you're participating?" Eve glanced at Glynda.

"...Yes."

Eve and Riliane walked out into the arena, weapons in hand. Eve looked around. Her eye scanned her teammates that watched intently from the sidelines. Her hand tightened around her whip as she turned around. She felt the eyes on the back of her neck, watching, judging. Eve's eyes squeezed shut. She got the feeling she always did when entering the arena, like she was back in Humanity, being judged, scored- _No._ Eve's eyes snapped open and she let out a soft sigh. _Enough, get a hold of yourself._

Eve held her sword out in front of her with one hand. The chain whip that was connected to her sword clinked slightly, moving back and forth as she pointed it towards Riliane, who was in a starting stance, her spear in front of her. Eve rarely got to see the spear form of her weapon due to her often leading her own team from the back, so she did not know what to expect from a one on one with her. The chains of Eve's whip clinked slightly, back and forth, as she gathered it up in one hand. She let out another breath, ignoring the tension in the air. Riliane swallowed, her stance lowering further.

Suddenly, Eve's hand snapped forward, as she moved her weapon. The chain whistled through the air before it as Riliane rolled away from it. Eve quickly grabbed her whip with her other hand, swinging it once more. Riliane dodged it again and turned her weapon into a bow, immediately shooting an arrow. Without flinching, Eve tilted her head slightly to the side, watching as it slid by, and then snapped her fingers. The chain quickly slid back towards its owner, and she effortlessly grabbed her sword on the other end by the handle, before sprinting towards her opponent. Riliane turned her weapon into its melee form just in time, before they clashed. For a few seconds, they struggled back and forth, before Riliane broke away and took a few steps back. She spun her weapon in her hands before slashing at Eve who deflected it. Only taking a second to recover, the two continued to engage in another bout of exchanges.

As the fight continued Eve paid no attention to the display, but knew her aura was beginning to weaken and assumed Riliane's was the same. Wanting to end the fight soon, Eve made her chain slowly snake towards her opponent from behind. Fully aware of its presence due to her semblance, Riliane quickly moved back causing it to miss. But as soon as Riliane's attention was elsewhere, Eve took the opportunity to swiftly kick her in the stomach. The aura absorbed it, but it was a blow nonetheless. Riliane stumbled backwards with a cough. Without giving her time to recover, Eve attacked again. Her chain sliced through the air, right where Riliane's feet had been, but the blonde had hoisted herself off the ground with her spear and kicked her square in the midsection. Eve stumbled back with a grunt. Noticing her opponent stumble, Riliane quickly moved forward and jabbed her spear towards Eve again, and again, and again all aimed at different parts of Eve's body. Eve deflected several of the jabs with her sword, but was unable to stop them all as a few impacted against her aura. Flashes of white appeared between them when the blades did clash. Eve was slowly being driven back. Rilane jabbed her briefly in the side, and then in the shoulder, before she quickly ended her assault and swung the weapon wide as Eve's legs, sending the girl tumbling to the ground.

After Eve barely rolled out of the attack that followed, and as a result of the miss Riliane's spear was firmly driven into the floor. Seeing her opportunity, Eve maneuvered behind Riliane and pointed the tip of her blade at the nape of her neck. "That's enough!" Glynda called out. Eve smiled slightly at her assumed victory. "The match between teams ROXA and CODE is a draw." Shocked she looked down and saw that Riliane had been able to reposition her spear in time to be just barely touching her heart.

"Wow...good fight, Eve," Riliane stated exhaustedly.

"You too," Eve replied with a soft sigh.

"Great fight you two," D'art grinned, slapping Eve on the back.

"Yeah good fight," Owen added with a supportive nod. Celeste walked over to Riliane.

"Nice job," Celeste said sheepishly.

"You too," Riliane blushed.

"Alright, well, I don't know about you guys," D'art said slowly, "But I'm starving, and I feel like some food."

"Oh! Oh!" Olive jumped in front them, "Ramen?"

"I want tacos," Owen said, partly to himself.

"Pizza?" Riliane joined them.

"I think we should get pizza," Celeste agreed.

"I'm up for anything," Said Eve.

"Why not all three?" D'art grinned.

"I suppose, since Nivens is paying for it after all," Celeste smirked.

"Eh, somewhere, anywhere, at this point I'm willing to eat a horse. Let's go."

"Gross…" Amelia muttered. D'art gave her a grin before putting his hands behind his head and walking out of the arena. The rest trailed behind them. Glynda watched them go before she pushed up her glasses and shook her head.

"Too much energy," She muttered, as she tucked her scroll underneath her arm looked back towards the others students, who had yet to participate. "Alright, that was team CODE and team ROXA. Next."

* * *

After returning back to Beacon, their stomachs full, the students gathered in a secluded corner of the library to discuss Humanity in hushed tones. Eve was pointing out on a map of Vale all the places she knew had connection to them and tried to remember all the names she heard. "Sorry to interrupt, but what exactly are you people going to do about Humanity?" Nivens questioned in his usual condescending manor. "I mean really, you're not gonna do this like Pinkie are you? Just go down a list killing everyone."

"What's wrong with that?" Olive asked.

"You don't see the problem with indiscriminate murder?"

"Any man who would cast away their loyalty to peace has lost their privilege to life. That's what my family says."

"So what, you'd kill a guy for robbing a bank?" Celeste asked, judgment apparent in her voice.

"If I had to," Olive replied with a shrug.

"You and Pinkie would get along great," Nivens yawned.

"Her name is Yukina," Eve said sternly.

"I'm aware, Miss-" He glanced at Riliane, then sighed and leaned back with his eyes closed.

"Please stop calling her "Pinkie."

"Fine, whatever. But you can't argue that ram bucked her head a few too many times."

"She's not crazy. We've been over this."

"No, sadistic is a better word I suppose."

"I'll admit she has some issues right now, but I know there's more to her than that. I can help her…"

"Personally, I doubt it." Eve didn't bother to respond and merely let out a brief sigh before looking away. "She cut off a man's arm and was laughing at him." Nivens glared at Eve, waiting for a reaction, but her face was emotionless. "So I think you'll have to excuse me if I don't have a lot of faith in your sadistic sweetheart."

She looked straight at him. "Nivens," She said calmly, "Stop calling her sadistic. You don't know her past, you don't know what she's been through."

"I'm just telling you what happened."

"Then she must not have been thinking clearly," Eve replied, "She hasn't been thinking clearly for quite some time now. Just...don't talk about her like that."

"Um…" Riliane spoke up quietly, "I really don't think this is the time to be talking about Yukina. Nivens is right that we need to make a proper plan."

Celeste nodded, "As much as I'd love to just walk up and smash their heads, we do need to have a strategy for these guys."

"Well for that we need to know what they're up to," Eve looked at Nivens.

"Hey, I said I'll tell you what I know when I know it." He paid attention to the list and map for the first time. Nivens took Eve's pen and began crossing things off. A whole district of buildings in Vale was scratched out and he removed nearly all the names. "Bo-Peep already got them. And in case it wasn't obvious already," Nivens put a big circle around the police station, "They are not going to help."

"Naturally," D'art laughed to himself, "Never trust officials from Vale to ever get anything done."

"I wouldn't trust officials from anywhere right now-" Nivens scroll buzzed in his pocket and he looked at the caller ID. "Hm, speak of the devil. This'll definitely more interesting than this little board meeting," he gestured at the papers before answering his phone and walking away. Watching him go the rest continued with their work late into the night.


	27. S2 C10

A/N: As you may notice, this chapter is written with an unusual timeline. This was indeed intentional as an effort to show the true mental distress that the character experiences. Thank you again for sticking with us and enjoy.

Yukina walked forward, her gaze completely fixed on the cupcake in her arms. She ended up bumping into another distracted pedestrian. "Hey, watch…" The business woman lowered the scroll she had been talking on until now. As her eyes met Yukina's her scowl turned into an almost sad smile, "I'm sorry, but you should pay more attention to your surroundings, little girl." Yukina looked back down and saw some of the frosting smeared onto her sweater and she began to tremble. "Hey, are you alright?" She carefully crouched down in her pencil skirt and noticed the damaged treat. "Oh… Here, let me," The woman took a kerchief out and reached towards the sweater.

Yukina instinctively jumped away from her hand, "No! I-I can take care of it."

"If you're certain," She said with a sigh and stood back up. "Though if you're trying to save that, then you should go back to the bakery and ask for a little box." The woman carried on her way and apologized to whoever was on the other end of her call.

"Save it…" Yukina repeated quietly and looked around to try and figure out how to get back to the bakery.

* * *

Yukina's hand lingered on the door before turning and walking farther into the lavish hotel room mumbling to herself, "He was nice…"  
" _Why would Humanity try to hurt someone like him?"_

" _He could be a liar."_

" _He could be working with them."_

" _This could be a trap"_

" _N-no he's good…"_

" _How do you know?"_

" _You thought Eve was good too."  
_ " _But she abandoned you!"_

" _Left you for dead!"_

" _No… She was going to come back…"_

" _She knew what would happen!"_

" _You can't trust anyone."_

" _You can't trust him."_

" _He thinks you're disgusting."_

" _Why would he not?"_

" _At best he's calling the police right now."_

" _You're a murderer after all."_

" _Crazy."_

" _Lunatic."_

" _Monster."_

" _Right…"_

Yukina paced around the large room, stopping at the windows and looking out into the quickly approaching night. She saw Xanthic wave goodbye to the doorman and then break into a run. "I knew it… He's scared…"

" _Of course he is."_

" _He shouldn't involve himself any more."_

" _It's too dangerous for someone like him."_

" _Unless it's an act."_

" _No…"_

" _He could be lying."_

" _Just like she was."_

" _I want to trust him…"_

" _You trusted her."_

" _You trusted them!"_

" _They all betrayed your trust!"_

" _They made you a monster."_

" _They did this to me…"_

" _It's not my fault…"_

" _They're to blame…"_

" _All of them…"_

Yukina looked out the window again, but Xanthic was already gone, "Good… Beacon is safe…" She took the paper he had given her out of her pocket and looked at it before setting it on the carved wooden nightstand. Casually making her way through the building Yukina listened to the peaceful music that played inside the elevator. There was a shift as it halted and allowed a middle aged couple to board. The blonde woman had on a pastel blue wrap with with cream colored embroidery and greeted her with a smile. Looking at her and the man wearing a brown vest and red tie over his white dress shirt, she meekly smiled back at them, these were Xanthic's parents. Despite only having met them for an instant Yukina already understood how realistic Xanthic's fear was. Mr. Picto was completely enamored with his wife, a feeling Yukina understood well, he barely even moved his eyes off of her to acknowledge Yukina's presence. He gave the warning that she should remain silent, to not take any attention that wasn't necessary. She wondered if the anger Xanthic imagined was really imagined at all. Then the image of his fierce eyes twisted in agony flashed into her mind and she felt a tinge of excitement rush over her body. Yukina forced her eyes shut and cursed her own imagination. Distraction, distraction… She thought about the woman and how she was objectively beautiful, her short goldenrod hair had the perfect amount of volume and looked like it was as soft as silk. By comparison, Yukina touched the edges of her own hair, her's was both brittle and greasy and it'd be impossible to move even a single finger through all the knots. She should take this rare opportunity to shower tonight.

Yukina was somewhat relieved that when the elevator reached the first floor the couple went away from the lobby. She walked outside and was stopped by the doorman, "Excuse me, I just wanted to apologise again miss. I had no idea you were a friend of the Picto family."

Yukina pondered his this with a somber smile, "Friend? I wish that was possible…" She walked away, leaving the man slightly confused and somewhat worried.

Yukina made her way to the office building that she had been at earlier. Most of the lights were turned off and she continued walking, now at a faster pace. The only people on the streets were businessmen and women heading home and to bars, they all paid no mind to what seemed like a young beggar girl. As she quickly continued down the street, rounding the occasional corner, she spotted the man she was looking for enter a convenience store. She crossed the mostly quiet street and waited at the far end of the building, just barely concealing herself in the small gap between it and the apartment complex next door. Time passed, but she was stubborn, she waited to hear the little jingle of the door opening. Steady footsteps came closer to her. Steady. Wait. Steady. His black dress shoes stepped into her view and adrenaline overcame her. Yukina trusted her blades into his arm and yanked him down into the narrow alley. He grunted and groaned with pain. "Wh-who the hell- What do you want!?"

Yukina smirked and stared into his eyes as she felt his panic of being trapped, surrounded by monsters. Knowing there's nothing he can do to save himself, he wasn't a huntsman, he was weak. "What do you know?"

Yukina ended her semblance so the man could focus on her. "I-I don't have the files anymore."

Yukina was kneeling on top of him and pressed the dull edge of her weapon against his neck. "What was in them?"

Yukina's weight, though she was fairly small, made it difficult for the man to breath. "I'll tell you everything, just pl-please ha-have mercy…" There was no response to his plea. "Th-they were a record of the councils' meetings, but some diplomats from Atlas won't be attending the n-next one. We- they, um, they want to figure out where they are."

Yukina moved her face down, closer to his. "Where? When? How many?"

Yuikina's stare chilled his being, "I-I don't know. I-in a few days I- I think. I don't- I don't know anymore. Please… please don't- don't kill me…"

Yukina chuckled darkly, "That's funny, I didn't know members of Humanity even knew what mercy was." She flipped her blades and pushed down. Another surge of joy covered her body.

Yukina wiped her hands on her sweater once she was finished and returned to the hotel. This time nobody stopped her and all the other guests were presumably asleep. Inside her room, she took off the sweater and did her best to clean it in the stained-glass sink. After deciding it was as good as it was going to get, she fiddled with the knobs to turn on the shower. She undressed and let her hair down as she allowed herself to accept the comfort of the hot water, though her weapons remained in their place on her arms.

* * *

Yukina limped in the dim light. The blood that covered her grimey hoodie could also be seen on her face. Her lips moved rapidly as she muttered to herself. The world around her blurred slightly as she slumped against a wall. With a whimper, she clutched her forehead, willing for the pain to disappear.

"They're all dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Slaughtered. Murdered. I-I-" She shook, eyes wide from shock. Silence. Then there was the soft _plip_ of a raindrop. She looked up wearily, taking her hand away.

Beyond the walls of the alleyway, she could see the small slit of grey sky and the ominous clouds that began to form. _Plip. Plip. Plip._ Dazed, the girl held her hand out. A single drop fell onto her finger. She looked at it. Red began to swirl inside the iridescent droplet from the blood that caked her hand like a glove. It trickled down her skin before falling to the ground. Rain began to fall continuously from the sky, becoming a gentle shower. The aftermath of the massacre began to appear in her mind, as clear as day. The rain fell harder. Her breathing became heavy. She remembered the bodies piled up on one another, their appendages scattered around aimlessly. Puddles of crimson on the ground, as if it had just rained blood. Faces filled with terror. Yukina's fingernails dug into her arms as she shook more.

"S-Stop it…" She whispered. Guts strewn around like the insides of a pinata. The emptiness. The abandoned tents, the shredded drapery that floated in the wind, caked with blood. The howling wind that echoed in her ears. The shadows that stretched past the piles of bodies. The carnage. And the most disturbing thing was, she hadn't been disgusted at any of it. She had _enjoyed_ killing them. She had enjoyed every second of it. And she would probably do it again if she had the chance. The pleasure she had received from slicing them apart was something she yearned for, even now.

Something inside Yukina shriveled and she shuddered convulsively, the fumes of the garbage becoming unbearable. She collapsed on the ground, vomiting. The rain thundered on her head as she continued to throw up. So much death, so much blood. Why didn't she feel disgusted? Her hands began to tremble. Something was wrong with her, surely. Then she began to sob.

The sky was now completely covered by storm clouds—ominous grey wisps that blocked out all the light—making the alleyway become darker and darker. Smoke snaked upwards from the machines and exhaust pipes which were barely audible in the downpour. Yukina's fingernails dug into the pavement as she sobbed louder. Every time she closed her eyes she could see them, the bodies, endless in number, pitless eyes open, all staring at her. She screamed and clutched her head.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She cried. "I did nothing wrong! You all kept me there! You're the ones who tortured me! Who put me in so much pain!" Yukina stood up shakily, eyes filled with hysteria. She grabbed a trash can and hurled it against the wall. It clanged loudly, falling onto the ground, the trash cascading out like a waterfall. The rain fell harder. "I did nothing wrong! You-You all got what you deserved!" She kicked the trash can again, and again, and again, until there was a dent so large that it didn't even look like one anymore. "I did nothing wrong!" She screamed again. "I did-"

"What the hell is wrong with her?" There were snickers. Yukina's head slowly turned to her right, and at the end of the alleyway was a small group of teenagers who observed her with snarky expressions, their lips curved upwards in amusement.

"Probably a druggie," A girl added.

"Crazy bitch," Hissed a teen as he strolled further into the alleyway. "Hey, sweetheart, this is our turf, get out." He swung his bat over his shoulder and observed her with lowered eyelids that were almost completely hidden by the black baseball cap on his head. Smoke rose up from a white cigarette as he slowly took it out and let out a large puff. The end of it blazed brightly in the darkness of the alleyway, illuminating his face in an eerie amber glow before he was dark once more.

"Leave me alone," Yukina whispered shakily. The teens exchanged looks and then cackled loudly. Yukina shivered in the dampness of the rain, as the blood and carnage flashed in her mind and she had a sudden urge to slice them into pieces.

"If you won't leave then I'll beat you up so bad you'll never be able to come here again," The boy smirked, and the group of teens began to slowly walk forward with grins on their faces.

"G-Get away..." Yukina said shakily, taking a few steps backwards. Looking towards where her weapons were hidden in her sleeves, she almost smiled at the thoughts that came to her mind.

" _No! Stop it!"_

Yukina groaned and clutched her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn't even hear the sounds of the city anymore, it was just the voices in her head and the rain that splattered against the ground.

" _Do it."_

" _Slaughter them."_

" _You know you enjoy it."_

"Stop it…" She whispered softly. "I-I don't."

" _Rip them up into little pieces."_

" _Just like the rest of them."_

" _They deserve it."_

"She's probably drunk." A teen hissed. Dazed, she looked up at them, her vision blurring briefly. The ember end of the cigar from the teen flared once more. Smoke drifted up from his lips that were curved into a cruel smile. They were only a few feet away from her now. One grabbed her hoodie and yanked her towards him.

"Ugh, she reeks." The teens cackled and slowly began to surround her in the darkness, unable to see that she was drenched in blood. Yukina's head was buzzing with voices.

" _Kill them."_

" _Kill them all."_

" _No!"_

" _Don't hurt anyone else!"_

" _You enjoy it."_

" _I don't!"_

He shoved her to the ground where she fell into a puddle with a splash. Her soaking hair fell into her eyes.

" _Don't hurt them!"_

" _Slaughter them, you could do it in a blink of an eye"_

Yukina curled up on herself, shaking, muttering softly, "I don't enjoy it. I don't. I won't do it again. They deserved it. It wasn't my fault, it wasn't."

The boy with the cigarette stood over her his bright amber eyes narrowed in disgust, "Freak." A teen beside him before forcefully grabbed her hair and held her up. She opened her eyes slowly. They loomed over her, sinister sneers on her faces. Something in her seemed to click into place, the voices in her head seemed to turn to one, and with the crowd closing in on her a smile crossed Yukina's face.

* * *

The clear sky hosted the songs of small colorful birds that seemed to be dancing with each other in their flight. A warm breeze lifted the late summer blossoms into the air, they swirled and flutted to the ground. Yukina moved herself forward and smiled as the warm sunlight brushed against her skin. Evelyn chuckled from her place under a large shade tree. "What is it?" Yukina questioned with her cheeks growing a rosy pink.

"Nothing really," Eve mused. "I just thought it was kinda funny how you're still wearing that hoodie."

Yukina hid her face behind her hands that were covered in the sleeves of the white hoodie that was just a bit too big for her. "W-well of course. You were the one that gave it to me after all," She muttered.

"I wouldn't have if I knew you'd just get it dirty like that." Eve's tone didn't change from her peaceful one before.

"What do you mean?" Yukina looked over herself in a panic to see if she had stained it somewhere with the grass. "I-I'll clean it, I promise. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get it dirty."

"But you still did… You still are." She got up and began to walk down the hill.

"N-no I didn't!" Yukina ran after her, but despite Evelyn only walking, she couldn't catch up. "Where are you going!?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to live my life free of Humanity."

"Let me come with you!" She stretched her arm out. Eve looked so close, but she was just out of reach. "Please! Don't leave me!"  
"Why would I want a monster like you sticking around?" Eve spat her words out. "You're crazy. I would never be able to sleep out of fear that you'd-" Evelyn was silenced suddenly. An evil smile crossed her face, "Exactly my point, monster."

Yukina looked down at the blood seeping from Eve's stomach, down her blades, over her hands, and into the sweater, turning it a deep red. "I… I'm not a monster… It's not my fault… Eve… Eve? EVE!" Yukina cried as her friend's eyes glazed over and her body went limp. Suddenly Yukina's body jolted forward. She turned and the sky grew dark as storm clouds stole the sun and the once warm breeze became a savage wind. All she felt was pain. Her hand felt scorched, her legs ached, and her heart broken. Lightning crashed across the sky and rain poured down, staining the sweater a deeper and deeper red.

Waking in a cold sweat, Yukina curled into herself. She ignored the itch of the damp grass as she slowly rocked herself.

* * *

Yukina sat on the edge of a camp waiting. She had arrived for two people who it had taken her years to find, Jade and Vincent. Vincent had been in charge of them when she was with Humanity.

" _When you were lied to_."

As far as she could tell he was still in charge.

" _He is responsible_."

Jade on the other hand Yukina knew nothing about, except that she never left his side. There had been plenty of rumors about her, but no one knew if they were true.

" _Lies upon Lies_."

Before anything else could be said, Yukina saw movement on the edge of the camp. Jade and Vincent had arrived. "Reports are still coming in, but it seems Yukina has been busy."

"We need to find her," Jade replied in a tone that Yukina could just barely hear.

"Oh I think she'll make her way to us," As he spoke Vincent turned in the direction of Yukina's hiding spot, "Wouldn't you agree Yukina?" Not knowing what else to do in the moment, Yukina stood up and walked out of her hiding place. "You've made quite a mess you know, I must admit it's slightly impressive." Seeing that Yukina was not going to reply he sighed, "Then I take it there is no talking you down… shame." With that Jade drew her sword and starting walking towards Yukina.

" _It is time."_

…

Yukina spat on the ground, watching her blood mix with the soil. She was no match for Jade, who did not seem to even be breaking a sweat. Yukina on the other hand was barely standing with her aura beginning to fail.

" _Still too weak."_

Vincent had not even joined the fight and was simply watching from the side. As Yukina looked at him he called out, "Is that really all you have? This is what took out so many of our people?" He talked with a tone of mocking disbelief as he walked forward, "I'm honestly disappointed."

" _He's right."_

Yukina charged at Jade again, and was quickly knocked to the side landing near Vincent. He looked down at her and spoke quietly, "It's a shame, you really could have been something great in Humanity." He then turned and walked away calling back to Jade as he did so, "Finish this so we can leave."

Yukina slowly stood up and to face Jade again. Jade allowed her to fully stand up before getting in a stance, "It's over, you can stop this madness now and it will be painless." Yukina made no response and did not even look in her direction. Jade frowned, "Have it your way then." Pausing for a few more seconds she charged. Yukina seemed dazed as Jade approached and made no effort to defend as the blade aimed towards her chest, " _This should finish off her Aura, and then one more will do it."_ Jade thought as the Blade made contact. But the contact was not the hard shell of aura she was expecting, but the soft impact of flesh as Yukina slightly deflected the blade to her side letting the blade move through her and brining Jade close.

" _We are not through."_

After the attack there was silence. Vincent turned to let Jade know what to do with the body but froze before he could speak wide eyed. The blade had pierced Yukina's side and was visible, sticking through the back of her clothes, a heavy wound but certainly not a fatal one. One of Yukina's hands was to the side clearly having pushed the blade away and the other was placed near Jade's neck, where her claws were extended piercing the flesh and bone of her skull. Yukina backed away letting the corpse drop to the ground and turned to Vincent. As she did she pulled out the blade in her side and threw it to the ground before slowly and clearly in great pain walking towards Vincent. Vincent looked between Jade's body and Yukina multiple times before drawing his weapon and moving towards the girl.

" _Fool."_

With the last of her aura Yukina activated her semblance, and in his distracted state it took hold of Vincent for a brief moment. That brief moment was all Yukina needed to shove both of her weapons deep into Vincent's chest, slicing through bone and organ alike on its way through. The pain tore Vincent out of his hallucination, only for it to spike as Yukina tore the weapons out through his sides letting him drop to the ground and begin to bleed out. Yukina's breaths were ragged and heavy as she started down at Vincent. After a moment of silence he slowly began to speak, "Well… I guess we did train you well." Yukina offered no reply, only pointing one of her weapons down in preparation for a finishing blow.

" _Finish it."_

" _Kill him."_

" _He's responsible for this."_

" _Make him pay."_

Yukina's thoughts were abruptly silenced as Vincent spoke again, "Tell me something, Was it worth it?"

"What do you mean?" Yukina replied after a pause

"Killing your comrades. Those you trained with, those you lived with?" Even through the pain Vincent managed to smile which unnerved Yukina, "How about all the innocents who did nothing but be associated with Humanity? Were all those lives worth it? Have you actually gotten what you wanted?"

" _Silence him."_

" _He doesn't understand."_

" _It's almost over."_

"I… I don't-" Yukina fumbled for an answer but found that one would not come to mind.

"Of course you haven't." Vincent replied as he tried and failed to sit up, "You are just content with continuing to be the monster you have become. You have just convinced yourself that this is what you want… That this will be the end of it."

"You don't know anything about me," Yukina stated adamantly as she slowly moved away from him.

"I know everything, I know the look in your eye. I know the lust for blood that you cannot sate no matter how hard you try… I know that even if you finish with Humanity you will never be able to stop." Vincent finally managed to sit up and pull a scroll out of his pocket, "And is that what you really want?" Vincent threw the scroll towards Yukina who caught it. "Tell Orelon I'll see him in hell."

" _Orelon?"_

" _Orelon."_

" _Orelon!"_

The voices in her head shouted the name of their next target as Yukina watched Vincent slowly crawl towards Jade's still form before falling still himself, his arm outstretched in a last attempt at taking her hand. As the voices bayed command, want, and need the area fell into absolute silence as Yukina walked away into the night.


	28. S2 C11

The cafeteria was bursting with the sounds of student conversing during lunch. Teams CODE and ROXA were sitting together, as per usual. The majority of the group was talking about their classes and what professors were giving them a hard time. The two leaders, on the other hand, were having a conversation of their own. "Are you sure I can't help you with your training? I don't mind."

Riliane 'looked' over to the other girl, "I'm fine snowflake. Don't worry."

Celeste looked back at her quickly, "Did you….just….call me snowflake?" She asked, voice low so the others couldn't hear.

A light chuckle could be heard from behind Riliane. Celeste looked over to see Nivens giving her a smug grin. She squinted her eyes in response and made a line across her neck with her thumb, before turning back to Riliane.

Riliane started to blush furiously, "I'm sorry. It just kinda came out. I won't do it again if you don't like it, though."

Celeste took hold of her hand, "No, it's fine." She spoke in an even lower tone and covered one side of her face with her hand. "I kinda like it. Just, don't let the others hear you call me that. I don't want them to think they can call me that."

Riliane giggled at the thought of the others calling Celeste by the pet name she had given her. "Sure thing," She leaned close to the other girl. "My special snowflake." Celeste cheeks burned red with the heavy blush spread across her face.

Having noticed Nivens laughing, Owen looked into his leader's mind and snickered, he spoke in a normal tone so to not attract attention of the two girls, "Y'know we should probably get to work on that project for that class."

"What're you talking ab-" D'art was elbowed by Eve and she nodded towards the two girls at the opposite end of the table. "Oh! Right, _that_ project. Yeah, we should get started on that right away."

Nivens shook his head in disappointment, " _You're terrible at lying."_

Owen shrugged and they all got up without Celeste and Riliane even paying attention to them.

Once they had exited the cafeteria they all slowed to a stop. "I think I'm going to actually study," Eve said. "Anyone want to join me in the library?"

"I actually would like to get a head start on a paper for Professor Peach," Amelia replied.

"I'll come with then," Olive cheered. "You coming too, Nivy?"

Nivens looked her dead in the eyes, "Never call me that again. And no, I was planning on doing a few touch ups on Vena today."

"Oo! Can I watch?"

He sighed, "Just try not to ask too many questions."

They all walked away, leaving D'art and Owen by themselves in the hall. "Wanna play some Road Combatant?" D'art asked while hold his scroll up.

"Absolutely," Owen replied and they headed back to their dorm. As the two approached, they found Cerise waiting outside impatiently tapping her foot. "Hi Cerise." Owen said with a smile as they walked over to her. Cerise nodded back in reply, then looked at D'art and handed him a note wrapped in a seal and velvet print without a word.

"What's this?" He asked, confused. He unwrapped the letter and read attentively at every syllable. He dropped the note, shaking his head. 'D'artagnan Montaigne, by order of the Ridge, you must return to the Militia at once.' D'art stood shocked, dropping the letter to the floor. He finally gave a small chuckle and balled up the note and chucked it into the opposite corner. Owen sighed and opened the door to head inside, This would take a while.

* * *

D'art and Cerise's screaming echoed across the halls. Owen sat in the middle of the two, watching as they hurled insults and complaints at each other. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT COMING BACK?!" Cerise said, unwrapping the letter and shoving it in her coat pocket.

D'art waved his hands around at the room, "I've still got stuff to do here! Humanity is still out there and we've gotta fight it!"

Cerise stared back at D'art blankly, shaking herself out of her stupor. "You idiot, that's why you're coming back! We can't have one of our guardsmen in the middle of harm's way like this, working for another country! I was told to come back with you no matter what."

D'art sighed, looking around the room and back at Owen. "I just can't. I made a promise to my friends, to Eve."

Cerise scoffed, crossing her arms, "Oh. I see, it's that Eve girl huh? Whenever you're doing something stupid or dangerous she's always around. Convenient, eh D'art?"

D'art stood dumbfounded, trying to comprehend what Cerise had said. "What're you saying?" He finally blurred out.

Owen couldn't help but stifle a chuckle, catching a cold glare from Cerise. "What's up tin can, think this is funny?"

D'art's confusion turned to anger, stepping between Owen and Cerise, pointing a finger in cerise's face. "Hey, leave him out of this, huh? It's between you and me."

Cerise blew some hair out of her face, staring back at D'art with the same cold glare. "Big words from a battery with no juice." The argument shifted to their native tongue, the foreign language escalating the argument higher and higher.

Finally Owen cut in between the two, pushing them away. "Ok ok, everyone relax. Now, why don't we settle this like mature, semi responsible adults?"

Cerise and D'art sighed, looking at each other and saying in unison "You're on." The two rushed out and headed towards the training grounds.

* * *

Thankfully, class had been cut short, so the grounds were practically empty except for a few taking bets on the lover's quarrel in the stands. D'art took to the south of the arena while Cerise took the north. D'art put on his coat and brandished his rifle, waving sarcastically at Cerise.

Owen placed his hand on D'arts shoulder, trying to plead with him in his mind. D'art shrugged him off, kicking the dust off his shoes. "Sorry man, this is just something we gotta do."

Owen places his hands over his eyes. "What, fight your girlfriend?"

"Yes," D'art responded simply, moving into the ring standing opposite Cerise. Neither activated their Aura causing a concerned look to cross Owen's face.

"May the best win," She taunted. "Hopefully _Eve_ can dress your wounds." D'art rolled his eyes, getting into a fighting stance. From the sidelines Owen started counting down from three to one. Before he could reach zero, Cerise launched forward with her knives, D'art barely able to raise his rifle to block in time. D'art shoved back, pushing Cerise far enough away to take a shot at her blades. One of the steel hunting knives clattered on the floor, a bullet hole present in the center of the blade. D'art cracked a smile, blowing the smoke from his rifle. Cerise winked back at him, ferociously chucking bolas at him. D'art smile went back to a face of concentration, attempting to shoot the bolas out of the air. He hit most, but two found their mark, tying his legs and hands together. D'art dropped the rifle and fell onto the ground, struggling to get loose. Cerise rushed over, laying her knee on his chest and stabbing a knife through the bola into the ground, pinning him. "Give up, sparky." She jeered, pushing her knee further into his chest. D'art grunted, grabbing ahold of the bola. Thankfully, it was metal, as was the majority of the knife. He began to shoot an electric pulse through his whole body and into Cerise. Cerise fell off, rolling back to her side of the ring. Cerise grunted in pain, holding her side. D'art grabbed his rifle, rushing over to Cerise on the ground. He held out a hand, shaking his head and frantically apologizing. Cerise rolled back to face him, sneering. She took huge sweep at his legs, tripping him and injuring his leg in the process. Both stayed on the ground, rolling in pain from the fight. Owen sighed, opening his scroll and calling Eve to help bring them both to the infirmary.

* * *

"-ke up...jeez these meds really knocked him out." A voice said as D'art shook his head, gaining awareness of where he was. Eve, Cerise, and Owen were standing over him.

"Ugh. My head's swimming. Did I win?"

Cerise shrugged, "In a way. Doc says he wants to keep you under watch for a while longer then you can go. Me and Eve talked when I woke up. While I was very...loud at times, she told me everything that's going on. I'm sorry, I should've…"

D'art waved his hand dismissively, "It's ok. I know." He grabbed Cerise's hand, holding it like he was falling off a cliff. "Look, I want to go home, trust me. But I can't leave until this threat is gone, so you and I can live in peace. I can't have you involved with this, it's just too dangerous. Heck, even I'm not completely sure I'll be safe. But knowing you're safe helps me get through it all."

Cerise smiled as she kissed D'art on the cheek. "I'll tell Dumas what's up." She said, leaving the infirmary.

Eve walked over to D'artagnan's side, smiling. "Thanks, D'art. I really appreciate it." D'art gave a big grin back, nursing his injuries.

* * *

After getting diner with CODE in the cafeteria, which took far longer than expected as D'art was over exaggerating his limp and they had the surprise guest of Cerise, team ROXA retired to their dorm for the night. Despite the threat of Humanity still lingering over them, they were all able to relax a little thanks to the safety of the school. Xanthic was just sitting down to finish up some notes when his scroll buzzed. It was a number that made his heart race, Vincent. He opened the message in a hurry, "I'm at the statue get out here."

"I'll be back!" Xanthic said, already scrambling out.

"What's so-" The rest of Riliane's question never came as the door was slammed shut behind him.

When Xanthic got outside the dorm building he slowed his pace to catch his breath, but he never stopped. As he approached the statue on the edge of Beacon's campus, Xanthic wasn't sure if this was better or worse. Standing there was not Vincent in his dark green suit, but Yukina, wearing her dingy pink hoodie. "What are you-" Before he could finish she lunged out at him. Xanthic barely avoided her blades as he ducked away.

"Orelon Picto's your father, right?" Yukina more insisted than asked.

"Wha- y-yes, he is!" He answered in a panic.

Taking a few steps forward, Yukina paused for a second seeming to argue with herself before pointing one pair of blades at Xanthic, "Where is he?"

"I… I d-don't know," He matched her paces backwards and held his hands up defensively.

As she continued to walk forward Yukina's words became more feverish, "Lying, lying, lying, he's lying, he knows…." The words did not seem directed towards him nor did she seem to be acknowledging them until she stopped again, "Or are you working with him? Lies upon lies."

"Wha- I- O-of course I'm n-not. I-I'd never. We can t-talk this through. Pl-please, just- just p-put your weapon down. I don't wa-want to fight."

Yukina looked down, seeming surprised when she saw her drawn weapon, "I… I didn't…" She took a few steps back towards the statue and leaned against it. Xanthic sighed in relief.

" _Maybe her poetry wasn't too far off actually,"_ Nivens pondered.

"What do you mean?" Xanthic asked him in a whisper.

" _Nevermind, there's more important things to worry about right now."_

"Ri-right…" Xanthic took a step closer to the statue and spoke in a quiet voice, "Yu-Yukina?" The girl looked up to him in response but offered no reply. "Um… A-are you alri-right? I mean… Wh-why are you here, a-at Beacon?"

Yukina pulled out a scroll and tossed it towards Xanthic, "I know... I know who your father is… he's who I've been looking for."

He barely caught it and fumble with the device for a moment before activating it. Xanthic knew there was only one way she'd be able to get this scroll and swallowed down his panic, "Wh-what do you mean? Who d-do you think he is?"

"Don't play dumb."

"I-I…" He sighed, figuring his chances of remaining alive were marginally better if he told her the truth. "I'm s-sorry, but please l-let me explain ev-verything." Again the only reply was silence. "W-well you see um…" Xanthic told her how his plan had been to help the kingdom form countermeasures to Humanity and that he was the one who let the others know about the mission in the woods. Reluctantly, he even confessed that the night they first met was when he was offered to work with Humanity, that he wasn't an actual prisoner.

As Xanthic spoke Yukina listened in mostly silence only occasionally speaking to herself, notably when he mentioned the time they met. When he finished she finally spoke to him after having another nonsensical conversation with herself, "Do you even know what your father has done?"

"I-I do…" Xanthic bowed his head. "I still don't understand why he's doing this though…"

" _Clearly because he's a lunatic,"_ Nivens said. " _I mean really, that crap he said about doing this_ for _Claire is just nonsense."_

"Well with how he e-explained it…"

" _Whether he's got a plan or not, murder is still murder."_

"I know…"

As Xanthic was distracted with Nivens, Yukina suddenly stepped forward, "And you would just let him continue?" Now mere inches away from Xanthic, she repeated the question quietly to herself multiple times.

" _You're being too indecisive,"_ Nivens told him. " _Let me handle this."_

"But you'll…"

" _My goal is to sleep in our bed tonight, not a coffin."_

"A-alright," Xanthic swallowed again.

Nivens gave a short exhale, "I need you to just calm down and listen to me for a minute, Yukina." He tried to make his voice as soothing as possible, like he was talking to a frightened animal rather than a person. "Just because our method is different doesn't mean we don't want the same thing in the end. We both want Humanity stopped as soon as possible. The only difference is that you decided to destroy them and I just want them to dissolve."

"What's the difference? Gone is gone…" Yukina rambled quietly, "But you haven't made anyone gone… You're lying again… Stop lying to me!"

Nivens jumped back out of fear of being suddenly stabbed and muttered, "That delusional little…" He shook his head and spoke to her again, now struggling to keep his tone smooth, "I'm not lying, you just aren't accepting what I'm telling you."

"No! You're a liar! Liar, liar, just like- Just like them…"

"I'm not sure if it's because you're delusional or if you're actually an idiot…" Nivens sighed and let his annoyance show through, "People can't lie through your semblance can they? You know that I'm a faunus and you probably understand better than anyone else how I feel about Orelon. It's not that I'm doing nothing, I just need to be careful and subtle with what I do so I don't get caught and killed."

With that the conversation stalled again, the only sounds in the courtyard being the quiet mumbling of Yukina talking to herself. After a few minutes she stopped and sat in silence before quietly making a single demand, "Tell me where he is."

"No," Nivens said sternly. "If anyone is going to kill that man, it'll be me. Besides, wherever he is right now he's bound to be with Claire and I won't let you hurt her. She's a good person…"

"I just want him," Yukina replied stepping closer

"And I just want for as few people to die as possible, so how about we calm down and come to an agreement here?"

Pausing to think about his proposal, Yukina raised her weapon towards him, "No more talking, no more lying, where is he."

He grabbed one of the blades, "It's a shame I'm so-" He was abruptly cut off as the blades moved forward with unexpected force pushing him to the ground, making eye contact as he fell everything went dark.

* * *

All around him was nothing, not light or dark, hot or cold, just nothing. His heart raced and his breathing hastened, but there was no air. Nivens began to choke on the nothingness. Right before he was consumed there was a sharp pain on the back of his head, as his vision grew dim again he could faintly see a wide eyed Yukina slowly backing away from him.

* * *

"Hey, you alright?" A deep voice called out as a warm hand gently shook Xanthic awake. He winced from a sudden sharp pain in the back of his head and sat up as his aura sealed the small wound.

"Tigre..? Wh-what are you-" Xanthic remembered what happened and looked around frantically, "What time is it?"

"Almost 11."

"Di-did you- Um… Did you by chance see a girl wi-with pink hair?"

He paused and thought for a moment, "I don't think so. Did she attack you?"

"N-no, well… yes, but…" Xanthic sniffed the air, "What's that smell?"

Tigre pointed over him, "I'm guessing that girl left it."

Xanthic looked and saw the crushed form of a cupcake with greenish white fuzz coating the frosting. "Ugh, that's disgusting!" He jumped away from it. "Wh-why would she leave something like- like that here?"

"I was confused too."

"Um, n-not to be rude, but um, wha-what're you doing here, Tigre?"

"Dan lost his knives, we were all looking for them…"

"Oh, right, I um, I forgot to give him th-the two I bought because so much ha-happened."

"You bought him knives?"

"Yeah, th-they were going to be a ge-get well gift, b-but like I said a lot happened that ni-night. Um… Wh-why are you st-staring at me li-like that?" Xanthic's face got pink from embarrassment and he turned away.

"Your hat…"

"What a-about-" As he reached up to tug down on its brim, Xanthic realized what Tigre ment. He quickly got up and retrieved his hat from its place next to a small dark red stain and put it on. "Pl-please don't- don't tell anyone ab-bout this! I'll do wha-whatever you want, but keep this a secret, please!" Xanthic begged.

Tigre was taken back from how desperate Xanthic was. "Alright," He agreed despite his hatred of secrets.

"Th-thank you," Xanthic relaxed slightly and looked up to see the crumbled moon. "I, um, I should get back. Riliane is probably worried… I-I'll bring those knives over to-tomorrow. Um… Goo-goodnight and, uh, good lu-luck, I guess…" He rushed back to his dorm wondering why Nivens wasn't giving his usual commentary on situations like that.

* * *

"It's been over three hours," Riliane said with concern as he entered. "Where'd you go?"

"N-nowhere, I just, um, I just had to take care of something qui-quickly. S-sorry for worrying you…"

"If you didn't want me to worry, then why didn't you answer your scroll?"

"I, um, I didn't hear it, um…" Xanthic searched his pockets, getting more frantic with each one. "I must've dr-dropped it somewhere. Could I, um, cou-could I use yours quickly, Olive?"

"Hm? Oh, sure," She tossed the device to him and Xanthic dialed his own number.

He was surprised to hear a young woman answer, " _Hello?"_

"Y-you took my scroll? Wh-why would you- I need that."

" _You weren't going to tell me anything. You don't care. I'll find him on my own."_

"You can't fi-fight him alone! He'll k-ki-kill you!"

" _I'll do it first."_

"No, wait!" But she already hung up.

"Who was that Xan..?" Riliane asked cautiously.

He swallowed and slowly handed Olive her scroll, "Yu-Yukina…"

* * *

Xanthic jumped awake in a cold sweat. His breathing was panicked like it was trying to grasp something. Olive was the only one to wake up as it was the middle of the night, "Are you alright Xan?" She asked from her bed.

"H-how was I s-supposed t-t-to know?" He pleaded quietly.

"Xanthic?"

"Wh-what do you want m-me to do..?" Olive's eyes adjusted to the dim light enough to make out Xanthic's shaking figure. "N-no we-we can't!," He told himself in a whisper. "Wh-why would you ev-ven suggest th-that!?"

Olive used her semblance to be sat cross legged in front of him, making Xanthic jump again. "Is something bothering you, Xan?"

"Oh, um, n-no. I'm sorry if I w-woke you."

"Did Yukina give you another hallucination?"

"Wh-what're you- wh-why would you think that?"

"Because that was that reason for your last nightmare, wasn't it?" Xanthic flinched at the vivid memory, "Sorry, sensitive topic…" Olive grabbed her ankles and leaned back, "If it's a dream problem I could ask my cousin for one of her herbal remedies?"

"H-herbal remedies..? I thought your family were, well, I thought they were all huntsmen?"

"They are, but just as much as we don't let any enemies get away, we don't leave anyone behind. Everyone knows at the very least basic first aid in case their aura is depleted during a battle."

"Oh, that's very um, pr-practical. B-but no, um, no thank you, I'm fine, re-really."

"She says that the only reason people get nightmares is because there's something bothering them, but she says it like super fancy. She's kinda the poetic one in my family," Olive chuckled.

"Oh, we-well she might be onto s-something, but I re-really don't want to talk about it."

"Hmm, what if I guess it? Can you at least tell me if I'm right?"

"I, um, I'd really ra-rather just go to back t-to bed I think."

"Aren't you going to have trouble sleeping?"

It was too dark for her to see Xanthic smirk at whatever snide remark Nivens had this time. "I th-think it'd be better to talk in the morning. It's, well, it's something that I need to tell everyone…"

"So it is a Humanity thing, then?"

"Ye-yeah… D-don't worry though, I'll uh, we'll figure something out…"

"Alright then. Good morning Xanthic," Olive teleported back over to her bed and pulled the covers over herself.

"Ri-right, good morning…"


	29. S2 C12

With his teammates already knowing about his secret there was no need for Xanthic to get up as early as he usually did, but he was up regardless. He got dressed within the room, using the curtain that was available to co-ed teams. Just as he was remaking his bed Amelia and Olive stirred awake. "You're up earlier than usual," Amelia thought out loud.

Olive looked at him, but Xanthic didn't meet her gaze. "I was, um, thi-thinking about some stuff and I n-never realized how late it was getting t-till it was light out."

"What were you thinking about?"

"I um… I was thinking ab-bout Humanity…"

"Oh, did something happen with them?"

"Um, n-no… Not exactly. I just, um, I'm st-still not sure actually…"

Riliane yawned awake, "Good morning…"

"Go-good morning."

"Oh, I'm still not used to you being here in the morning," Riliane laughed.

"You d-don't mind, right?"

"Of course not. It's not like I can actually see anything anyway."

"Uh, ri-right…"

Xanthic decided to pin his ears up and deliver the knives like he promised while the girls got dressed.

He took a deep breath before knocking on team SDTM's door. There was a loud groan and he was able to hear the brothers' conversation, though he had trouble telling which voice was which.

"Who is that?"

"Who's even up this early?"

"Answer it and we'll find," he was interrupted by what Xanthic assumed to be a yawn, "out."

"You do it then."

"Fine, fine." Heavy and sluggish footsteps came closer. The door opened and Xanthic was greeted with a mess of red hair and a yawn. "Huh, Xanthic? What're you doing this early?"

"I um…" He searched the face in front of him to try and figure out who he was speaking to. "Well, so-sorry for waking you, Moonracer. I just um, w-well I was talking with Tigre last n-night and-"

"So that's what he was so excited about…" Moonracer thought out loud.

"Wh-what?"

"Hm? Sorry, go on." He said with a dismissive wave.

"Right um, a-anyway I brought these over f-for Dan." Xanthic held the box out.

Instead of taking the box like Xanthic had been hoping he would, Moonracer leaned back in the room and called out to his brother, "Dan, get up!"

"Ugh, fine!" Dan was shirtless and moved his bangs out of his eyes as he took Moonracer's place at the door. "Make this quick, Picto."

"H-here…" Xanthic reached the small box out again, hoping this would indeed be quick.

"And what's this?" Dan asked, clearly agitated.

"Kn-knives… I um, I bou-bought them for you…"

"Why?" He was legitimately confused.

"W-well, Riliane thought that it might be a go-good idea so that we could um, maybe be fr-friends… Or a-at least to be on a little be-better terms," He added quickly.

"Aw," Simba appeared in the doorway and leaned on his brother. If they hadn't been wearing different pants it would have been impossible for Xanthic to tell them apart in that moment. "He brought you a peace treaty, Dan. C'mon, how can you say no to that."

"Easily," Dan growled while shoving his brother off. "But it's early and I just wanna go back to sleep, so thanks I guess." He took the box and promptly closed the door.

Xanthic breathed with relief, "That went better than I thought…"

" _And Tigre kept his promise so far, so that's good,"_ Nivens sounded bitter.

"Are you alright..?" Xanthic said quietly while walking back.

" _No. I want to break that pink brat's arms."_

"Y-you can't! If she- if she really… to Vincent and Jade…"

" _I know that, but I get pissed off just thinking about all of this."_

"Sorry…"

" _Oh please, neither of us thought he'd be this crazy. Considering everything it's pretty amazing you haven't completely given up yet."_

"You really think so?"

" _Yeah, everything might be a mess, but we're still alright."_

Xanthic had a grin on his face as he knocked to make sure it was safe for him to enter the dorm again. "Did something happen?" Olive asked noticing the smile.

"Huh? Oh n-no. I just, I think maybe today won't be too bad is all." The girls were all a little perplexed as their male teammate was usually the most pessimistic of the four.

After lunch ROXA headed back to their dorm and Xanthic sat at his desk, where his weapons, Vena, still were laying from yesterday. He picked up one of the gauntlets and examined it carefully, the touch ups Nivens performed included sharpening the claws and adjusting the length of the plates to make the joints more maneuverable. Xanthic put one on and tested the enhancements, "Wow, it's almost like a glove…"

" _You could sound less surprised."_

"Sorry, but wouldn't that have weakened the barrels' integrity?" As he posed the question to Nivens he fiddled with it for a moment before spinning it back into its primary form. He ran his fingers across the overlaying metal, concerned about how thin it felt.

" _They're still overlapping though, so it should be fine."_

"I'm not so sure…" Xanthic reached for his scroll then remembered that it was missing. With a short sigh he activated the larger tablet sized one and began browsing through his old blueprints. Just as he pulled up the most recent version a message blipped across the top of the screen.

He put down his weapon and tapped on the icon in an instant. It was a message from Orelon that stated very blandly, "I need to speak with you."

A reply came as Xanthic was still typing. "Where?"

" _Crap! She's going to ruin everything."_

Going faster as he panicked slightly he managed to send, "I mean do you want to meet now, or later at the same place as before?"

There was an unusually long pause that worried Xanthic even more. Though the response wasn't very settling. "I suppose it can wait until tonight."

"I'll see you at the usual time then." Xanthic breathed in relief and leaned back in the chair. Another blip from his scroll startling him.

"Where and when is the usual?" the number was marked as his own.

"I can't tell you that." He waited for a response that didn't come and sighed.

"So much for being a good day?" Riliane asked carefully.

Xanthic stiffened at being reminded of her and his other teammates' presence in the room. "Oh, um, ye-yeah… I need to me-meet Basil tonight."

"Oh…"

"I could trail behind if you want?" Olive offered.

"N-no! I-I mean if th-they were to see you… I don't know wh-what they'd do…"

"Alright." She went back to reading her comics, assuming it was Mic Jay that made it plural.

"Are you sure you're really okay doing this?" Riliane asked.

"Ye-yeah… I mean it's t-too late to stop now…"

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Xanthic. I don't want you to overwork yourself."

"Th-thank you for worrying, but I-I'll be fi-fine." He assured her and buried himself back into working on his weapon until going to an afternoon class, doing some homework and getting diner with the rest of his team.

As the sun was going down Xanthic took off the jacket and vest of his uniform and put on a plain long coat before heading out. It was dark by the time he arrived in Vale. He slowed down as he approached the restaurant to catch his breath before entering. "You're earlier than usual," Basil pointed out as he was wiping down a table.

"We-well it seemed k-kind of urgent," Xanthic explained while turned away from him.

"Indeed it is," Orelon stood up and drew Xanthic's attention.

"I'm sorry I was bu-busy with school earlier."

"No worries, in truth there were still some final arrangements to be made." He rested some of his weight on his black and blue cane as his eyes coldly looked over the small boy in front of him. "I have decided to advance my plans to tonight after the discovery that Vincent and Jade have failed to defend themselves against that rampant faunus." Xanthic stiffened at the mentioning of them. "Did you already learn of this?"

"Um, n-n-no… I'm ju-just surprised i-is all."

"I would appreciate if you did not speak lies to me, boy."

"Th-the truth is we-well she um…" Xanthic stepped back as he clutched the brim of his hat. "She f-found me wi-with his scroll a-and came to Beacon-"

"You had contact with her previously?"

"N-no. Not aft-ter the factory."

"I see… What reason did she have for sparing your life?"

"W-well I think that's bec-cause she- well she kn-knows um," Xanthic glanced over at Basil, who was now leaning back against a freshly cleaned table. "She knows ab-bout me…"

"So she does have a soft spot then, that is very good to know."

"Um, c-could we get back to wh-why you asked me here, pl-please?"

"Of course. Claire shall be arriving back home within the hour and I have made arrangements with all four branches of my organization for a simultaneous assault within the kingdoms, which should be the final breaking point for the faunus. However, they are all waiting now for my word to begin as there is something that must be taken care of first. Your classmates have proven to be the most troublesome bunch of children I have ever had the displeasure to meet and they must be taken care of as I have no doubt they would find a way to ruin another procedure."

"Y-you mean…"

"I for one believe that pests should be exterminated, unless you know of some alternate solution."

Xanthic swallowed, "I-I don't…"

"Then bring them to my office tonight." With that Orelon walked past him as if he wasn't even there and left the building.

Basil looked at Xanthic's quivering figure, "You won't have to fight anyone."

"R-right… Um, e-exuse me, I sh-should be going now." Xanthic turned and slowly exited. He could see Orelon rounding a corner and heading towards the Picto Corporation's Vale branch building.

" _Let's go."_ Nivens was determined.

"Y-you wanna go through with this!?" Xanthic questioned as he was running back to Beacon.

" _Of course not. I'm thinking with the nine of us we might actually have a chance, besides even if we don't do anything he'll know we've double-crossed him. At least this way I can finally blow off some steam."_

"I suppose you're right…"

"Of course I am."

Shortly after he burst back into his dorm room startling all three girls, "Xanthic!? What's going on?" Riliane asked in a panic.

"Call your girlfriend and get ready to leave," Nivens ordered as he went through the closet and changed into his own combat gear.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"He's gone too far this time… We need to stop Humanity tonight." He tossed his hat onto the bed and removed the bobby pins from his hair, "What are you people waiting for? This is what you've been talking about doing for the past few months now."

"Er- Ri-right." Riliane made herself focus and called Celeste to pass on the message as the four headed down to the locker room.

They met with Team CODE down there. "Are you sure _now_ is the right time?" Eve asked while collecting her weapon.

"Tomorrow will be too late," Nivens told her while flexing his hand inside the metal glove. "Let me borrow your scroll Olive," Already knowing what he had planned, Olive complied without question. After sending a quick message out he gave the device back and began walking, "Come on, we need to hurry."

Nivens had been ignoring all of his classmates' questions until Celeste froze as they all rounded a corner, "Is that Yuki-"

"I'm surprised she found the Picto Corporation building so fast," Nivens stated.

"You knew she'd be here?"

"Of course, I told her to meet us here."


	30. S2 C13

As the group approached the doors Yukina kept her cold stare focused on Nivens. "You're going to make him gone?"

"Either that or we're all going to die tonight," Nivens shrugged casually. "Mind giving my scroll back now? I need it to access the restricted parts of the building."

Yukina tossed the device uncaringly to him and watched as Nivens looked over the device. Her, Nivens, and Riliane turned suddenly and Yukina dashed out to stop a blade from slicing Eve's side as she was staring at the ground, distracted by her own thoughts. The clang of metal was enough the snap her out of it, "Yukina I-"

"Go. I'll hold them off." Yukina didn't take her eyes off of the assailant that seemed vaguely familiar to them both.

"Come on," Celeste grabbed her teammate's arm, "She can handle them. We have bigger fish to burn."

Eve tried to pull herself free, "I can't just leave her like this."

"Eve! We have to go!" Celeste yanked her back, towards the front entrance of the Picto Building as the reinforcements slowly trudged closer. Their tattoos revealed that they were part of the same faunus group that Eve and Yukina had been a part of. Eve glanced at Yukina who was the only thing between the reinforcements and Eve and her friends. "We can't just leave her-" She began, before Celeste yanked her backwards once more.

"Yukina is capable of taking care of herself, Basil is our top priority," Olive added.

"But-" Eve began.

"Come on!" Finally, Eve sighed and let Celeste pull her through the glass doors.

* * *

The group moved quietly through the rows of technology, some of their eyes lingering on the latest designs and styles of scrolls. Nivens kept leading them forward though. As the aisles ended the back wall was covered in simple yet elegant landscape portraits. He lead them to the back corner where a desk and register was stationed to block a hallway and hopped over the counter. Waiting a moment to see if he was heard, Nivens rolled his shoulders and beckoned for the others to follow. Once all eight were across they continued slowly down the hall, deeper into the building. Just before they rounded a corner Nivens stopped again and motioned for them to hold back for a second as he took a deep breath and stepped out.

"You should get floating, little mut. 'Les you wanna beating." The members of ROXA could all recognize the overconfident voice of Mic Jay.

Nivens had a smirk drawn across his face, "Really? But I was invited here by your boss."

"Now you're just talkin' jive. Ain't no way the man asked mut here."

"Would you like to put some money on that?" Nivens snickered.

A sudden gust of wind surrounded him, causing his mask to fly off. He was able to catch it safely, but turned to them without putting it back on. "Thought so," Basil said plainly.

"I told you I was invited."

"And the others?"

"Don't worry, we left the crazy one outside."

"Where are the others?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's enough chit-chat." He turned and beckoned them out again.

"What exactly is your plan here," Celeste hissed at him.

"Nothing really that clever," He replied still grinning.

"They weren't supposed to be armed," Basil glared at them all with his greatsword drawn.

"Relax a little, even with their weapons I don't have much faith in them winning against the three of us."

"Three!?" D'art questioned with his tomahawk pointed now at his classmate.

"You think a silver bullet like you's gonna be any help?" Mic jay laughed as Nivens moved to be next to them and stepped forward so his back was to the faunus. "I can handle these lalas myself." He raised his hand up and embers began to form around his fingertips. Nivens could see the gear on the back of his jacket spin and a small amount of powdered burn dust left its chamber. Just before the attack went off Nivens activated the plasmic dust in his gauntlets and grabbed the back of Mic jay's knee, and pushing him to the ground with surprising force. The fireball launched upward into the ceiling, charring the glass lights. "What do ya think you're doin' youngblood!?" He kicked out with his other leg, but Nivens had already retreated backwards.

"What, you really thought a faunus would _willingly_ go along with all this?"

"And yet he still wants you unharmed," Basil grumbled as he swung his sword again causing another gust of wind that forced him into the wall of the wide hallway.

"Technically 'alive' was his order for the narc." Mic Jay corrected him as stone formed around his fingers. He dashed forward and grabbed D'art's tomahawk, encasing it in a thick layer of earth. D'art swung upward with his left-handed weapon only to have it grabbed as well and he was flipped over. Amelia's scarf shot out over Mic Jay's head as he dropped down into a handstand and kicked at the next closest person. Celeste braced herself for the impact, but was unable to react as a slash of flames appeared above the musician and she fell back into Owen. Riliane backed herself into the wall and focused with her semblance to fire three arrows in rapid succession at Basil. The first was cut down, another scraped against his armor, but the last was able to scratch an open section of his arm.

He tsked at the carelessness of his aura, but didn't have time to retaliate as he felt a breeze from behind and quickly spun to block Olive's attack with the flat of his blade. Using it somewhat like a bat he pushed her into Nivens.

Owen connected to Mic Jay as he moved in front of his teammates and thought maybe what Nivens had said before about some people fighting purely on reflex might be true, all he could hear was the musician thinking about his songs. He did notice though, while barely blocking another punch, that his body was moving in rhythm to the song. Mic Jay was able to land a solid kick to his jaw and force him backwards. The man's eyes then landed on Eve, who was clenching her weapon tightly. He flipped towards her as a large ice spike formed at the heel of his hand. She finally reacted and was able to stop his strike with her chain, but her slash downward was easily avoided as dropped down and kicked in her knee. Eve stumbled, but Owen caught her with his glaive and quickly spun it to get a hit on Mic Jay's side. " _Go back and help Yukina. You're too distracted here."_

Eve looked at her teammate and nodded, " _I'm sorry."_

" _I think we can handle them."_ Eve turned and ran back to the front of the building without opposition as they were all too busy in the combat.

D'art created a surge of energy to shatter the rock that had covered his weapon and threw it at Basil. The huntsman again blocked with his weapon, but flinched as he received a shock upon impact. A deep noise that almost seemed to be a laugh escaped from Basil as he readjusted his grip on the large sword, "You're nothing compared to him." He ran towards D'art and stopped himself with a stomp, shifting all of his momentum into a full swing. The flames from his sword transferred to briefly cover the young guardsman's body as his aura saved him from the brunt of the impact, but as he moved around his opponent and tried to counter he found it strenuous to raise the arm that was hit. With his body not reacting correctly it was easy for Basil to swing back and hit him with the pommel. An X slash of ice from his side took him off guard though as Celeste rushed in to help her teammate, with Owen firing a few shots in their direction as well.

Mic Jay, swift as his movements were, was beginning to have trouble keeping up with team ROXA. He wasn't expecting Nivens to actually be good at close combat and the occasional arrow meant he had to almost literally stay on his toes. As he matched another of Nivens' kicks with his own, Olive slashed low across his supporting leg and as he lost his balance, Amelia's scarf wrapped around his head and she grabbed his sleeve. Mic Jay tried to elbow back and knock her away, but his coat was forcing his arm to stay in place. Riliane and Olive hit either side with a large slash upwards as a faint shockwave covered his body. Nivens then stepped forward and slammed his fist into his still covered face and the four heard a loud cracking noise, when Amelia removed her scarf they could see the noise was from Mic Jay's nose being snapped into a new position.

As Owen connected with Basil now he couldn't read anything useful. The huntsman seemed to be fighting on pure instinct. The three members of CODE continued to attack the man, but he seemed to always be two steps faster than them. Owen jumped back so he could have time to think and tried to figure out what they could do, Celeste's preset strategies and combinations weren't working and it didn't exactly help that Eve wasn't there. As Yukina briefly crossed his mind, Owen realized something and watched Basil for a few seconds before jumping back in. He ducked under a wide cleave and whacked the blunt edge of his weapon into Basil's back. The man stumbled back from the force of the attack and glared at the faunus, his sword was dripping with water as made a quick swing and splashed Owen and his teammates. Owen swung his glaive downward and Basil caught it in the notch at the end of his blade and he felt the weapon get heavier and heavier. D'art and Celeste both tried to take the opportunity to get an attack in, but with the floor now slick, Basil purposefully lost his footing as he pulled back on his weapon. He caught himself with his free hand and watched above him as Celeste hit open air and Owen's glaive collided with D'art. But Owen wasn't where Basil had expected him to be, laying on his back in the puddle opposite of him, instead the wolf faunus was at his side and forced his elbow down into basil's lower ribs. He yelled out in both pain and rage as he grabbed Owen by his shirt and threw him onto Celeste, but as the two were now out of the water D'art put his hands down and sent out a shock as strong as he could.

Basil panted heavily and forced himself to stand by using his greatsword for support. He looked around and noticed Celeste and Owen already getting back up and Mic Jay was tightly bound by Amelia's scarf. "I'll tell you anything if you let me walk out of here."

"Yeah right," Celeste crossed her arms, "The second we turn our backs you're gonna attack us."

"Why would we even consider letting someone like you go?" Owen growled.

Basil remained quiet as his eyes followed Nivens who stepped closer to him. He was pretty sure he understood why the burly man was having a change of heart and lifted his mask as he spoke, "Get rid of that sign in your window as well."

"You're really going to let him go?" Olive asked. "Just for letting faunus in his restaurant?"

"Even if we did let him go," D'art added, "Which I am highly against doing, what's to stop him from from just starting Humanity up again?"

Nivens put his mask back in place and pointed to one of the corners of the ceiling, "If he does step out of line, then I can easily dig this footage back up."

"You really think he didn't turn those off?" Mic Jay laughed weakly.

" _You_ really think he's just waiting quietly without any idea of what's going on? No, I'm positive he's been watching us this whole time through the security camera. He probably planned to delete the footage afterwards."

"But if you save the video the police will want to see it," Riliane pointed out.

"They hardly need to. I have more than enough incriminating evidence right here," Nivens assured her will hold his scroll out. He finally turned back to Basil, "Send me everything you have when you get home and we'll never speak of this again."

Basil took his scroll out of his pocket and handed it to him, "I'll just get a new one." After Nivens took the device and nodded, he walked away without opposition, other than Owen's continued growling.

"Why would you let him go?" The faunus demanded.

"Well he did ask nicely," Nivens shrugged as he put both devices away. He started walking back to the elevator but stopped and spoke in a serious tone, "His son's a little brat, but he still deserves to grow up with a father that cares about him as much as Basil does. Besides, I'm not going to be responsible for separating a family." He continued walking and waited by himself in the elevator.

"I'll," Amelia was still a little winded and mostly focusing on keeping her scarf wrapped tightly around Mic Jay, "I'll wait here."

"Yeah," D'art moved closer to her, "There's no way I'm letting you be alone with _him_."

Celeste nodded, "Owen, you should go check on Eve. Let us know if something happens."

"Fine," He clearly wanted to fight the mysterious leader of Humanity, but knew that it was more important to make sure his teammate was alright.

"Then Riliane, Olive, let's go." The three girls joined Nivens in the elevator and he pressed the button for the top floor.

* * *

Eve ignored the shouts that followed her as she sprinted down the corridor, back the way she had come and past the large windows that spanned across the walls. She knew what she should do, help her friends. But Yukina wouldn't disappear from her mind. Even _she_ couldn't defeat all those grunts… could she? Or was that not what Eve was afraid of? Was it the fact that she knew that Yukina would slaughter them all? She didn't know.

Within a minute, she finally exited the building, gasping for breath. She slowed her pace slightly and winced as she caught sight of the front entrance. She had not really taken in the area when they arrived, a lawn lay in front of the building, with a large walkway that led to the parking lot, several feet away. Eve could see bodies strewn across the lawn, bits and pieces of them scattered apart like the appendages of a doll. The grass, which was originally a beautiful emerald green, was now bathed in crimson. Eve could see the reflection of the fractured moon in the puddles of blood on the pathway that led to the building.

There were still several of the reinforcements left and they had surrounded Yukina, who was fighting them off. Eve watched, frozen in place as one of the faunus dodged an attack and sliced into her arm. But there was no emotion in Yukina's face as her blood splattered on the concrete. _Her aura was gone._ Eve's grip on her chain tightened and her face hardened as she took a few steps closer.

Gradually, the reinforcements trudged closed inwards and threw more strikes at her. They weren't the usual grunts that Eve had seen at the rally. Their movements, though often swiping through thin air due to Yukina's agility, were void of hesitation and quite calculated. The looks of exhaustion on the several of their faces showed they were not faring much better than their opponent. How had Yukina lasted this long? Yukina jumped over an attack and sliced through one's neck. For a moment, their head was still, before it lolled off it's body and dropped onto the ground. Another one kicked Yukina forward and she fell onto the ground with a grunt. She stood up carefully and rubbed the blood off her face with her arm. Eve stepped forward to help her before she realized who had kicked her. It was Silver. Eve's eyes widened and she slowly took a step back. Silver. The same Silver who had been something of a 'friend' to her. But where was Jet? Already dead? Eve's mind quickly abandoned that thought as Yukina was kicked once more. The pink haired girl stumbled slightly and took a few steps back, panting.

Without thinking, Eve rushed forward. She jumped onto the back of one of the attackers and landed in the circle of enemies, next to Yukina. She blocked a strike before she threw her weapon, which whipped around her, and knocked back the reinforcements. Yukina quickly glanced at her before dodging a strike.

"What are you doing?" She panted.

"Saving you," Eve quickly brought up her sword, which clanged against another, before quickly slicing through her opponent. "Like I should have done earlier."

"I don't want your help," Yukina said coldly, although she was clearly exhausted.

"As much as you'd like to think, you're not a one man army," Eve said with a grunt, as she countered a stab.

"What do you know," Eve's eyes slid to Silver, who slowly held an arm out in front of the others to stop them from fighting. "It's the coward, back from the dead."

"Good to see you too, Silver," Eve said wearily. Gradually, the rest of the group stopped fighting and looked at Silver, unsure of what to do.

"So ironic that I'd see you here, trying to save your girlfriend after you abandoned her to die," She breathed. Yukina bristled slightly but Eve was emotionless.

"Listen, Silver, you don't have to do this. You don't have to fight us," Eve replied softly. Silver chuckled under her breath as her lips curled into a cruel smile. She was even more beautiful than Eve remembered, but in a different way. Her features had become cold and sharp and her pale eyes, that had once held a spark of hope, were now grey and hopeless.

"You just don't get it. Ever since you left I've wanted to rip you apart," Silver drawled, as she made her way towards the center of the circle. Her grey eyes locked onto Eve's with striking hatred, and a little bit of something else that Eve couldn't pinpoint. "It's so unfair, how you were able to escape, find a life of your own while you left us to _rot,"_ She snarled, her voice filled with venom. Then, she was silent. "Why?" Her eyes became almost forlorn as she looked away and her voice became softer. "You, me, Jet. Even Yukina. We could have all run away together, but you just left us all."

"No," Eve began,"I-" She broke off as jagged blades impaled Silver. Eve's eyes widened. Silver looked down at the claws in her stomach and then coughed realizing her mistake as she had dropped her aura. Blood shot out from her mouth, like a fountain, and splattered on the ground as she was pushed onto the concrete, revealing Yukina who stood behind her having let Silver walk right by when she was distracted with Eve. Silver's grey eyes slid towards Eve, almost sad. She opened her mouth and began to croak something before Yukina forcefully kicked her to pull the blades free and driving her into the concrete in silence. Eve swallowed as her blood slowly pooled out onto the ground, turning her light grey hair into a muddy red. She felt a lurch in her stomach, but didn't have enough time to feel truly mortified, as the rest of the stunned group suddenly charged towards them.

"You shouldn't have killed her," Eve whispered, as she countered a strike. "She was just like you. Just...filled with hatred and unsure of what to do with it."

"Maybe she would have lived longer if she didn't spend so much time with her little speech." Yukina spat as she ran her claws through someone's chest, seemingly having gained a second wind due to the brief respite. There were only a few reinforcements left, and with the death of Silver, they appeared to be lacking in conviction. One, towards the back, whimpered slightly and spun around before sprinting away.

"Oh no you don't," Yukina pushed past the remaining faunus and chased after them.

"Yukina! Stop!" Eve shouted, unable to follow Yukina as the grunts quickly refocused onto her. She dodged a strike and then whipped her chain into the air. It quickly curled around the remaining enemies, just barely trapping them all. Eve raised her hand into the air and flicked it to the right, which sent the bundle of grunts flying across the lawn before they collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, but alive. She turned around and saw Yukina, who stood up off of the corpse she had chased down and shook blood off her weapons before walking back towards Eve took in a shuddering breath and looked away.

"And then there were two." Yukina said with barely a whisper.

"That wasn't necessary," Eve whispered.

"They've all hurt people, probably even killed some. They deserve it."

"You can't just dish out justice like that Yukina," Eve insisted. "You don't have the right to kill people just because you want to."

"I don't need a _right_ to kill people." Yukina replied "And it's not like I can stop myself," She added softly.

Eve looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Yukina walked over to a man who was lying on the grass and kicked him in the stomach. He twitched slightly, "You didn't kill any of them, did you?" Yukina replied, ignoring her question.

"Yukina-" Eve started to reply but stopped as the pink haired girl ran her claws through the man who shuddered slightly and then laid very still. "Stop it!" Eve ran towards her but Yukina pushed her away and continued to walk across the lawn.

Yukina moved to another one and stabbed down, keeping eye contact with Eve as she did. Pausing only for a second she moved on but was stopped as Eve grabbed Yukina's arm and yanked her back. "Let go," Yukina stated quietly with a slight smile forming on her lips unbeknownst to Eve.

"Stop killing them!" Eve cried. In reply Yukina quickly pulled Eve towards her and made an attempt to swipe at Eve with her claws, but missed as she was kicked away. Yukina recovered and started toward another body but was blocked by Eve. "Stop it! I won't let you!"

"Why are you protecting them?" Yukina questioned. "They're nothing but monsters."

"And we were a part of them!" Eve yelled back, as she chased after her."We're no different than them! They were faunus too! They were kidnapped and tortured until they became like this!" Yukina shook her head and began to turn away before Eve grabbed her and tried pulling back once more. "Don't! Stop!"

Yukina mumbled under her breath and then turned driving her claws into Eve's stomach. The hit was absorbed by Eve's aura but she was pushed aside. With a grunt, Eve gestured towards her whip on the ground, which flew into her hand and then wrapped around Yukina's ankle. She quickly pulled backwards, which forced Yukina onto the ground. The pink haired girl quickly recovered, and rolled away from another hit before dashing towards Eve and slashing at her. Eve dodged the attack before whipping her chain back at her. It made a great loop in the air before quickly diving towards the ground, making a mark in the concrete before she quickly adjusted it and it smacked Yukina in the chest, sending her flying backwards. Yukina fell onto the ground and coughed heavily before slowly standing up, the smile on her face fully formed.

As the fight continued Eve's chain whip swirled in the air, creating shapes and spirals and Yukina executed slashes and swipes as they battled in the dark of the night. Silver chains striked against bloodied claws as they made their way across the walkway, stepping over dead and unconscious bodies. The only sounds they could hear were the noises that came from their rapid footsteps on the pathway, and their clashing weapons. Eve wrapped her whip around Yukina's waist and yanked her forward, driving her foot into her stomach. Yukina grunted but grabbed Eve's foot and pulled her towards her before throwing her onto the ground. They took a few breaths before Yukina quickly dashed towards her. Eve switched from her chain to her longsword at the end of it, and countered a slash, and then another. She held it vertically, as Yukina's claws formed an x and screeched against her blade. They struggled back and forth. Eve could feel sweat slowly drip down her neck as she grunted, putting her weight into it. Yukina tilted back slightly before she grit her teeth and pushed back towards Eve.

"Defending murderers," Yukina laughed, "What do you think that makes you?"

"I'm defending people who were used," Eve snarled. They slowly struggled backwards and Eve slammed Yukina into a lamppost. "Something that we both could have used when we were like them," She pushed her blade towards Yukina who pushed back with her claws.

"You want to be a hero? I thought you abandoned that long ago when you left me, left us all."

"I'm not a hero," Eve hissed, as a strand of black hair fell into her eye. "I wasn't there for any of you when you needed me. And for that, I'm sorry." She paused briefly. "But I won't let you kill anyone else because of your hatred for me. It was my fault you became like this. I won't let you hurt anyone else because of me." Yukina's pale eyes narrowed as she pushed Eve away and let her claws fall to her sides.

"Then stop me," Yukina spat back with a laugh and a cough, before the smile on her face disappeared. "...Please," She begged softly, as the conviction in her eyes lessened. Eve stared at Yukina. Her eye changed slightly, as if she had realized something. She moved to stab Yukina, who made no effort to block and simply observed the blade until it stopped an inch from her face. Yukina stared for a second more and then looked at Eve.

"You _want_ me to kill you, don't you?" Eve whispered. The hand which held her sword trembled slightly, but she didn't move it away. Yukina was silent. Then her pale eyes slowly slid away. Eve shook her head, numb. "You thought I would actually kill you?" She inquired incredulously. "After everything?"

"I can't stop…" Yukina whispered, as she repeated what Eve had heard from her before, "It just gets worse and worse… I attack before even thinking about it… I… I feel nothing anymore…" Eve studied her with a pained expression.

"Would you kill me?" Eve asked.

"I'm afraid that I will reach the point where I can't stop myself from… hurting the only thing that…" Yukina fell into silence without finishing.

"That what…?" Eve questioned softly.

Yukina looked away from Eve and backed away, "It doesn't matter anymore… or maybe it hasn't ever," Eve's expression hardened before she dropped her sword and threw her arms around Yukina in a hug.

"Stop backing away," She whispered, "Stop running before I can help you. You're not a monster, not yet, and you don't have to be one."

The voices in Yukina's head all shouted, but Yukina, in a voice barely audible to Eve merely said, "Shut up…"

"No," Eve said quietly, not moving. "Stab me if you want, I'm not leaving you again," Tears appeared in her eye but she blinked them away. "I'm never leaving you again," Yukina started to reply but stopped and timidly wrapped her arms around Eve, as if she was terrified, terrified that she would be left behind again. They slowly broke apart and Eve gently wiped the blood off her cheek with her finger and smiled warmly. Yukina's eyes widened slightly. Tears appeared in her eyes as she leaned towards Eve and quickly kissed her.

It was a timid and innocent gesture that made Eve stiffen slightly in surprise. It was over as quickly as it started, when Yukina pulled back, her cheeks flushed and red, but Eve simply smiled and pulled her towards her as they kissed once more. Yukina's lips were soft, and tasted slightly of iron, but Eve ignored this as she gently ran her fingers through Yukina's hair. She realized then, that Yukina had always loved her. Not as a friend, like she had thought, but as more. That's why she had been so affected by being left behind. And she also realized that maybe, a part of her had always loved Yukina like that as well.

* * *

As Owen exited the building he took in the sight and froze. He caught the door before it could close behind him and stepped back inside the building. " _I think they're fine,"_ he thought to himself as the door slowly closed shut.


	31. Season 2 Chapter 14

"You realize how suspicious it is that we're in your company's building, right?" Celeste asked as the elevator rose.

"He's the one that decided on the location," Nivens replied blandly while staring straight ahead at the closed doors. "Besides, he's not expecting any of us to walk out of here, so suspicious or not doesn't matter to him."

"According to the idiots downstairs you're the special exception."

"I'm not sure why though, I know he doesn't care about me."

"Who is he?" Riliane demanded, holding herself back.

"There's no point in telling you when you're about to meet him." The doors opened and Nivens walked out, "I'll give you a hint though, all three of you have already met him before." Irritated at his usual hobby of avoiding the question the girls followed him down the ornately decorated halls of the offices. He stopped at a set of double doors at the end, the metal plate next to them read 'Branch Manager'. Taking a deep breath, Nivens suddenly kicked the doors in.

"That was rather unwarranted," A uniquely refined voice called out. "I thought you were typically one to conserve energy, rather than waste it on grandiose displays."

"Yeah, you seem to have a lot of misconceptions about me," Nivens growled as he walked closer and his classmates fanned into the room.

"This is unfortunately true. You have proven to be quite the disappointment." The owner of the voice stepped back from the window and revealed his face to them all, he was easily recognizable as the only differences to his appearance from before were the dark teal framed glasses he wore and the long dark grey cloak that hid most of his body. "I had hoped you cared for Claire at least a fraction of what I do; however, if this is the choice you have made I will try my best to make sure your injuries are not too severe. I would hate to watch her cry over someone like you."

"Why? Cause she'd be thinking about someone other than you? Get over yourself, old man."

"This new attitude of yours is becoming an annoyance rather quickly."

"Then do something about it. _I'm_ not afraid of you."

The girls could hardly track his movements as Nivens caught Orelon's slender blade mere inches from puncturing his throat. "Then it seems you have been away for too long. You have forgotten your place."

"Oh, shut up already," Celeste complained as she ran in and punched at him with her extended blades.

Orelon didn't even flinch as the attack was being blocked by a dark slate-colored light. His harsh gaze turned down to her, "Perhaps it was your brashnes that influenced him."

"She doesn't have anything to do with this," Nivens told him adamantly as he forced the sword away from himself. He set off two quick punches, followed by a kick, but never connected as Orelon swiftly moved back.

They all felt a small gust of wind as Olive moved behind him for an attack. There was a clang of metal as Orelon turned in time and blocked her slash with what three of them could recognize as his cane, though it seemed to be missing the handle and the blue netting design was a brighter blue than before. Olive retreated back and shook her hand that was holding her weapon, she thought she had felt a shock upon impact. Riliane moved to the side wall next to a coffee table and fired two shots. The first whizzed past his line of sight, getting his attention. The second was blocked by his aura as he turned to face her. She transformed her weapon just in time to block his strike against her and felt sharp twinges in her hands. Sensing him go for an attack with his dominant hand, Riliane shifted her lance to block it, but accidentally ended up giving him an opening for him to jab her shoulder with the rod in his left hand again. Instead of the pulses she felt before, this time Riliane was forced to cry out in pain as a powerful shock spread throughout her body.

"No!" Celeste ran forward to close the distance. She punched the air twice and ice copies of her blades flew out towards the cloaked man. He dodged one and blocked the other. Assuming he was distracted, Nivens dashed and grabbed his cloak, his weapon burned a hole through the material. His aura protected him from getting his cheek sliced open and he backed away so to form a triangle with Celeste and Olive around Orelon.

Not caring about the hostility around him, Orelon lifted his cloak to inspect the damage done to it. Deeming it unworthy to continue being worn he tossed it aside. "Why must children be so meddlesome?" He complained quietly.

"Because apparently wisdom doesn't come with age," Nivens answered. He flinched at the hard look he was given and Riliane took the opportunity to release the arrow she'd been holding onto. Orelon was fast enough to avoid getting hit directly, but when it landed behind him embers burst forth and set the wooden desk ablaze.

Celeste dashed in first, with her arm blades matching the desk, she missed her first strike at his side and he parried her second attempt. Flicking her wrist, she trapped his sword in the gap of her weapon and smirked, "You're not that tough." She pulled him down and readied another punch, but he acted first. As she pulled, Orelon crushed his heel into her toes, causing her to hesitate from the pain, and then jabbed his sheath to her bare stomach. "AAGH!" Her limbs were spasming.

"Celeste!" Riliane charged while her weapon transformed. She swung for his head, but came into contact with only his aura. He hit the lance away with his electrified rod then spun swiftly to stab at her with his blade. Her reaction was just fast enough to mostly block the attack.

"Olive!" Celeste commanded while regaining control of her limbs. Both girls covered their weapons with electricity and slashed at him. Orelon was able to block Celeste's attack, but couldn't match Olive who hit his shoulder-blade. They backed off quickly, expecting a retaliation and fearful of his minimal reaction. Other then his natural reflex, he didn't seem to notice that they were using dust at all.

"Idiots," Nivens tsked as he dashed in for another attack. "He can manipulate voltage." He jumped over the blade swung towards him and contorted his body in the air to kick at the back of Orelon's head, but he was able to pivot and hit Nivens' leg with the electrified rod. Landing with a grunt he lunged out, grabbed his father's leg and released a burst of plasma. "That's public information."

Orelon kicked himself free just in time to block Olive again, but Rilianes arrow was able to pierce his arm. He retreated a few feet with a tsk as he ripped the arrow out and let his aura heal the wound. "I must dispose of this suit now."

"Don't worry," Celeste took a deep breath before going in for another attack, "You won't need it in prison."

"I will not submit myself to the confines of a cell," He replied while blocking her strikes and kicking out.

Their battle continued for what felt like an eternity as Orelon had the distinct advantage of speed, skill, and experience. He parried and countered near every attack the students made, the few that did get through were absorbed by his aura. The four were all feeling the weight of exhaustion and the girls had backed off for a moment to try and catch their breaths, but Nivens stubbornly remained. Now with the opportunity to observe the Pictos fighting each other it became obvious to Olive that Orelon was a major influence on Nivens' fighting style. Both of them had almost mirrored stances and footwork, but she noticed Nivens was being overly aggressive and sloppy where Orelon was still perfectly composed. Or so it seemed. She caught a glimpse of Nivens' face and was confused, he had a smirk; that overconfident grin they had all seen so many times. Was she missing something?

Nivens made another attempt at a punch only to have be, as expected, blocked by the thin blade. A bright burst of energy released from his gauntlets and he was able to grab the sword. He pulled his father down and with his other hand dug his claws into Orelon's shoulder and released another burst of plasma. Nivens could see a slate colored shockwave cover Orelon's body as he winced and retaliated by jabbing his sheath into Nivens' gut with a surge of electricity. He was forced to stumble back and yelled out in pain as Orelon slashed through his chest, just deep enough to make him bleed.

That's what it was. Olive could see now why Nivens had been smiling. Orelon had shifted his grip on the sheath and winced as he placed his hand on his shoulder. His composure was an act. His stamina was wearing thin. As Orelon made another attack against Nivens, slicing through the top of his shoulder as the boy partially dodged, Olive rejoined the fight and slashed his lower back. He moved to attack her, but held his swing until he felt the wind to his side and smacked Olive across the face. Nivens blocked a stabbing strike at his ribs with the back of his hand, causing the dust containment to shatter under the pressure and release a large burst forcing all of them back.

Riliane tried to focus her aim, but her hands were shaking as she fired multiple arrows at Orelon. Several of them stuck into the right side of his body as he was recovering from the shockwave and made him drop his weapon. From her place across the room, Celeste stabbed her blades into the ground and flames erupted at his feet, causing him to stagger and fall to one knee. His eyes moved towards Olive as she approached, but he remained still. She calmly flipped her wakizashi and thrust it forward.

The room was filled with a screech of metal and a scream of pain, but Olive remained completely unfazed. "What are you doing Xanthic?"

"Stop… Pl-please…" Xanthic weakly grabbed his arm at the end of the large gash.

"Why are you protecting him?"

"I…" Tears rolled down his cheeks, "I c-can't lose ano-nother family…"

"What are you saying?" Riliane demanded, her breath shaking from exhaustion.

"J-just please, don't… don't hurt hi-"

Orelon grabbed Xanthic's rabbit ear and forced him to the ground, "I do not need to be protected by something as pathetic as you." He whimpered in pain and curled into himself. Without a care for the wellbeing of the faunus, Orelon stood up on shaking legs. Adjusting his glasses and surveying the room he sheathed his sword and used its primary purpose as a cane. "If I am to fail here, then I will gladly accept my death."

Olive moved herself into a stance and quickly glanced around the room. Riliane was using her lance for support and was clearly anxious to check on her partner. Celeste was still on the other side of the room, now with ice shards covering her blades. Olive closed her eyes and Orelon turned towards the direction the wind was coming from, but Olive hadn't moved. She was still in the same place next to Xanthic. By the time he had realised what happened, it was too late. He felt a searing pain, like that of frostbite, as Celeste jumped up slicing his back and then punched down forcing him into the floor. Ice crystals formed around him to keep him in place as she ran over to join Riliane and Olive by Xanthic.

"Call the police," Olive instructed her leader as she took her face mask off and wrapped it tightly near Xanthic's shoulder. "Make sure to get Jared and tell him it's a brass level case."

"Is he going to be alright?" Celeste asked.

"Normally it shouldn't be lethal, but his aura was completely depleted and he has other injuries too, so the danger is if he bleeds out." Her gaze shifted momentarily to the large burn over his ribs, "I'm surprised he got up after that one."

It was quiet in the room, save the crackling fire from the desk, which Celeste put out after they had all calmed down for a moment. Xanthic had lost consciousness, but his breathing was steady. "I think they're here," Riliane said.

Olive got up and went out to greet the officers as they approached. "That's a surprise," The officer said calmly. "The girl outside had more blood on her than you do."

"I haven't killed anyone, Jared," Olive responded blandly. "But my teammate needs to get to a hospital soon." She lead them into the room where Celeste was carefully holding Riliane's hand as they sat next to Xanthic.

"Right," Jared pointed over at Orelon's body and spoke to the two officers that were behind him. "Take him down to the station and keep him away from any of the wiring." He then walked over and kneeled down opposite of the two girls and blinked at the boy in front of him, "Thats…" He shook his head and took out a first aid kit and began working. "You're lucky we have a system for dealing with the Braz Clan's messes. And that I was the one that I was around when you called…" Jared sighed as he finished tightening the bandages and moved to apply a disinfectant to the burn and smaller cuts. "I'm sorry… It shouldn't have come to this…" He gave a sad laugh, "Guess I still need to be more skeptical, especially about people I trust."

"What do you mean?" Celeste asked.

"Well, I um… the reason we didn't get here sooner was because the chief was trying to stop us. I ended up having to… I shot my dad in the hand and managed to get everyone to listen to me."

"So we were right not to trust them."

Olive couldn't help her smile from returning, "I can't believe you actually shot him."

"It was just his hand so he'd drop his weapon," Jared defended himself adamantly.

"So what happens now?" Riliane asked quietly.

"Well, I'm going to have to take all of you in for questioning again. I especially have a few questions for the young Mr. Picto." He looked around the room again, "So how about we all head back to the station? Your other friends should already be on their way." They all agreed and Jared carefully picked up Xanthic and lead the way. Olive seemed to have a renewed spring in her step, while Riliane and Celeste seemed to be struggling to walk even with each other's support.

* * *

The students all met together briefly at the police station before being separated into interrogation rooms, again. The only exception was Xanthic, who was sent to a small clinic, and Eve who they were told was already in processing. The night carried on quietly with high tensions until the front door opened and Ozpin entered the police station. Having been called with the news of his students, he had stopped to visit Xanthic before arriving just in time to meet the rest of the students in the lobby. He talked with them and after a lengthy conversation with a concerned Eve and an officer who seemed to be incharge he continued to the back of the station with a pair of different officers. As they entered the viewing area for the interrogation room, He looked at the girl sitting on the other side of the one way mirror. The girl was waiting patiently in a prisoner's jumpsuit and a blindfold. Turning to the officers Ozpin questioned "Why the blindfold?".

The officers nervously looked at each other before one answered, "She uh… requested it."

Giving only the slightest reaction Ozpin continued, "And her clothes?"

One officer was quicker to answer this time, "We had to confiscate them for evidence. It will take a while to test them, but between that and her weapons we are confident that we can connect her to several unsolved cases."

Ozpin nodded in response, "I assume you looked into Miss Glamis' claims?"

The officers talked quietly to each other for a second before responding, "We are currently in the process… but the data from Orelon Picto so far connects many of those victims to Humanity… but that doesn't change the facts." The officer stated adamantly pointing at the girl in the other room, "She is a cold blooded killer."

Seemingly disinterested Ozpin moved to enter the interrogation room idly replying to the officer on his way out, "We will see about that." As he entered the interrogation room the girl turned to face him in response to the sound. Sitting down across from her he sat in silence for a few seconds before greeting her with a simple "Hello." The girl nodded in response but remained silent, prompting Ozpin to continue, "My name is Professor Ozpin, I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy. Miss Glamis tells me your name is Yukina."

Yukina gave another nod, this time along with a quiet "hello."

Echoing his question to the Officers Ozpin asked, "What is with the blindfold?"

Hesitant, Yukina responded after shifting nervously for a few seconds, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"And I don't think you will," Ozpin replied before leaning forward and removing the blindfold. "It is nice to meet you Miss Freesis." Avoiding his gaze Yukina only nodded in reply. "Eve has told me alot about you, as have the other students… and the police." Noting her only reaction being to the mention of Eve, he continued, "You have been very busy… not only with Humanity, as I am aware of your encounters with my students have been less than desirable." Still trying to avoid his gaze Yukina squirmed in her chair. "But I also have been told you tried to protect my students." Yukina look up in surprise meeting his gaze for the first time "I'm told you even gave up your vendetta in the end for their sake… so I have one question about all of this," Ozpin leaned forward, "Why?"

Holding his gaze Yukina responded confidently, "I did what I had to do. Even though I knew it wasn't right. I thought it was what had to be done."

"And what do you plan to do now?"

Sitting silently for a bit again, Yukina replied quietly, "It doesn't matter… as long as I don't lose Eve again…"

With a nod Ozpin stood up and turned to leave before saying one last thing, "There is darkness coming Miss Freesis… and people who are willing to do anything for the ones they love are exactly what is needed to stop it." Entering the other room Ozpin spoke to the now single officer who was disinterestedly playing on his scroll, "Miss Freesis has been working in tandem with us to investigate those with ties to Humanity and uncover their leader. We will send over the paperwork detailing her defection from Humanity and subsequent activities promptly. We apologize for not informing the police, but we had no way of knowing that Humanity did not have an agent inside. Thank you very much for your cooperation." The dumbfounded officer attempted to respond, but was unable as Ozpin exited the room. Returning to the front of the station, Ozpin spoke briefly to the waiting Eve who quickly left to find her friend in the back of the station. After watching her leave Ozpin walked out of the station and into the night without another word.


	32. Season 2 Chapter 15

((A/N (7/26/18): We're very sorry about the delay of this chapter but the one in charge of writing this portion got serious writers block and struggled with finishing several scenes. We thought it was best to delay our usual schedule rather than posting something with a severe quality dip. Thank you for your patience, and enjoy the chapter))

Xanthic stirred awake, quickly becoming startled and confused by the machinery around him, "Wh-where- How di-did I…"

"You're awake," Riliane spoke excitedly. "How are you feeling?"

"I um…" He looked around to see his classmates. Xanthic moved to sit up and winced, upon glancing down at his arm he saw a long thick scar stretching from just before his wrist to halfway through his bicep. "Olive di-did you..?"

"Orelon's still alive, he's in a holding cell until they finish processing," Olive explained to him.

"Man," D'art heaved, "I'm glad you're alright, having an old man like that, though, life must of been rough. I mean really, giving you an injury like that, he didn't hold back on you at all."

"Oh, well, a-actually um…" Xanthic looked briefly at Olive before staring back down at his hand that was connected to a heart rate monitor.

"That was Olive's work actually," Celeste informed him.

"Wait what?" D'art looked wildly between them.

"I had the opportunity to finish off Orelon, but Xanthic got in the way," Olive explained. "My blade scraped off of his gauntlet and slid up his arm."

"Oh, so it was just an accident," He sighed.

"Why did you get in the way?" She continued blatantly.

"He… I-I couldn't just- He's st-still…" Xanthic quivered.

His shaking stopped as Nivens took over, "We lost a family once already. Sociopathic douche or not, he wouldn't be able to take the stress of losing another so suddenly."

"Just don't do anything like that again," Riliane said, "Either of you."

"How about I just promise to let you know the next time we have a personal connection to a terrorist," He chuckled. Nivens looked at his hand again before taking the small device off of his finger, causing the rhythmic beeping to turn into a single tone. "That'll get somebody's attention I hope. And maybe they'll bring some food before the police."

* * *

An older male reporter adjusted his papers, "The police have finally announced the cause for the commotion at the Picto Corp building three days ago; a group of first year students identifying as teams CODE and ROXA of Beacon Academy had a violent confrontation with leading members of the organization known as The Guardians of Humanity's Crystal. These members include the famous musician, Mic Jay, and the Vice President of Picto Corporation, Orelon Picto, both of which were arrested along with a still unidentified girl. The two previously mentioned men have been so far uncooperative in investigations. At the same time, it has been revealed that certain members of the police force were being bribed or blackmailed by the anti-faunus group. For more on this topic we have our newest reporter, Lisa Lavender with Xanthic Picto in the studio." He nodded at the camera and glanced off to his side.

As he finished the cameras switched from the simple counter-like table to a set with two chairs half facing each other from opposite sides of a coffee table. On the right side was a young woman wearing a purple suit and pencil skirt with long hair that matched her name, "Thank you for the introduction." She plastered a polite smile on her face before turning to face the young man across from her. "Is there anything you'd like to say to start off about these allegations concerning your father?"

It would have been almost impossible for his classmates to recognise Xanthic. He was wearing a white dress shirt along with a golden yellow vest and a small red feather was tucked into the ribbon of his hat, but more importantly than his clothing was his demeanor. Xanthic was sitting with perfect posture and seemed, only to them as, very strangely charismatic. "Yes, though first of all I would very much like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here today. Now regarding my father I would like to make it very clear that these are not allegations and I am doing everything I can to assist the police's investigation."

"Do you know to what extent your father was involved with the organization?"

"He confided in me a great deal, which was rather uncharacteristic of him, but Orelon Picto was the founder of Humanity. As he explained it to me, his motivation was an attempt to draw humans and faunus away from each other believing it would allow Remnant to be at a more stable peace."

"Why would he confide in you so much if you weren't a part of his group? It was you and your friends that were responsible for his arrest afterall."

"Yes, well, my father never thought very highly of me in terms of, well anything outside of what he and my mother had taught me. You see, I'm rather good at acting, but I'm mostly a coward and he was aware of that. So it took him a bit by surprise, I think, that I actually stood up to him."

"I see, did he confide in his wife as well?"  
"No. As far as I'm aware my mother was the last person he wanted to find out. He idolized her in a way and he knew what he was doing would have pushed her away, to say the least, but he believed the end result would be worth it."

"Alright, now onto the big question." Lisa leaned in slightly, "With the history from your grandfather and now your father as well, can you give us any reason for the people of Remnant to have faith in Picto Corp?"  
"Right, about that…" His normal attitude slipped out a bit. "I have a bit of a confession to make. You see, I have no blood relation to Orelon, Lucient, or Claire Picto, in truth I had never seen Keshiki till I was seven years old. My birth records were falsified to help hide my identity, I was actually born to two rabbit faunus in a small village in Anima known as Tenjiku Botan." At this point Xanthic took his hat off and carefully removed the bobbi pins that held his lop ears in place, allowing them to drop just in front of his shoulders. The reporter was stunned as this had apparently not been mentioned previously. "I do apologise to everyone I've deceived, but as I mentioned before I'm kind of a coward and couldn't bring myself to face the world as a faunus after I had seen how they were treated when I was little. I was desperate to survive and, if I may be frank, the best way for me to do that was to be human. My mother was against the idea from the beginning, but I was insistent on hiding."

Xanthic's continuation gave Lisa time to recover her composure, "Despite your lack of blood relation and difference of species you still consider yourself to be the son of Claire and Orelon Picto?"

"I do," His smile shifted into an honest one, though there was still a note a sadness. "I will be the first person to admit that Orelon is… He is a very difficult man to please and is quick to let somebody know their position, but he was the man that helped raise me and he made Claire happy. To me, and I know he feels similarly, the only thing I could really wish for is for my mother to be happy. She is such a kind-hearted person and she truly cares about the well being of everyone she meets. I really do consider myself lucky that I get to call her my mother."

"Do you know how we can expect her to react to this recent discovery about her husband?"

"Similarly to how she was about her father would be my best guess, but I really have no idea. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that hopes she moves on from him."

"I see, well unfortunately I believe that is all of the time we have, so is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"Yes, it is entirely because of my teammates and classmates that we were able to abolish Humanity. All I did was let them be at the right place at the right time."

"Well, thank you again Mr. Picto."

"It was a pleasure Ms. Lavender."

* * *

Xanthic was sitting on the edge of his bed, "Is there a reason you didn't want to join the others for training? You seemed really excited that we were reconsidered for the Vital Festival."

" _I was, till I realised it wasn't because of our actual merit. The only reason we're going is because we're famous heroes now."_

"Yeah, but I thought you liked attention like that?"

" _But I don't like having things I haven't earned."_

"Oh, yeah that makes sense I suppose." As their conversation continued with various topics a knocking at the door caught his interest. He got up and opened it. Tigre's large figure loomed over Xanthic. "Oh, uh, i-is there somethi-thing I can help you with Ti-Tigre?"

"I… Thank you for beating Humanity and congratulations."

"Oh, y-you really didn't have to c-come all the way here ju-just for that."

"And I wondered if you owe me a favor or not."

"A fa-favor? Why would I- Oh, for th-that. Um yeah, di-did you have something i-in mind?"

"Forgive me."

"Forgi-give you? For wh-" Xanthic's question was cut off as Tigre had leaned down and kissed him.

His rough lips pressed against soft ones for a moment before he pulled himself away. "Sorry. I wanted to do that for awhile." Tigre continued looking at the smaller boy's stunned face for a few seconds more before leaving.


	33. Epilogue

I still find everything so hard to believe. I mean, I always heard about how important someone's college life is, but even with ours being more eventful than most it just kinda faded into the past. Everything that happened with Humanity and my father is all but settled. The police have rounded up most if not all the remaining members and though it took her awhile I was really glad to see mom get over father Orelon. She has even told me that she'll be filing for a formal divorce in a few days, which I know will be a comfort when the others show up. Or most of them anyway, I still wish I could have gotten into contact with Amelia, but if even Olive couldn't find her then she must want to stay hidden. It'll be a bit depressing not having the full teams together, but I suppose that wasn't going to happen anyway since Danual decided to stick with the White Fang, despite his brothers' pleading. I know he thinks he's doing what's right so I can't really blame him, especially after all he's been through, but I wish he'd be able to see what's happening to them. It makes me hope that people like that little fox girl we saw at that rally were too young to remember Humanity and what they did, so they'd have less of a reason to be so violent.

But I should try to be more positive today. I get to see Eve and Yukina again. They've both changed a lot since that first year, Eve seems far more cheerful now and Yukina hasn't threatened has actually turned out to be quite endearing. Honestly it still seems kind of weird how normal everything is with them, I mean it's a good thing that Ozpin stopped them from getting arrested and we were all able to eventually forgive her, but it still feels strange sometimes. The two of them did also insist on bringing some of their home grown fruits from Patch as a gift, so I guess that's something to look forward to. Seeing D'art again after so long will be interesting as well, I mean, he was so excited to take his official position as a guardsman, but Owen mentioned something about him actually getting stressed out fairly recently. It was something about recurring nightmares or something, maybe a weekend away here in Keshiki will help him relax a bit. Owen himself seems to be doing alright, though he did complain about being a third wheel to everyone. Except Olive of course, but in that case the issue was apparently more that her family made most events awkward for him. I know we extended the invitation to them as well, but I have to admit I kinda hope they don't come.

The Braz family aside, I'm more worried about the Komoris. Celeste said she wanted to bring her cousins with and I couldn't really say no, not after what they've gone through. Last I heard, Cobalt was taking everything really well, but Violet's been kind of bothered by everything. Fortunately I think Lilivandria is still too young to really have been that attached. I can't really be upset anymore now cause I'm thinking of how cute she was in her flower girl dress from Riliane and Celeste's wedding three years ago. Her dress was just adorable.

All of their wedding was pretty amazing though. Their dresses were beautiful, the flowers and decorations were wonderful, the cake was delicious, and I even think Celeste started crying during their vows. The two of them are so happy together, I just want I wish them the best. And I hope everything goes as smoothly for us as it did for them.

Speaking of which, Tigre is probably wondering where I am so I'll leave this for now.

~Xanthic Picto

((A/N): We thank those of you who have stuck with us this far and reached the end of our first story. It means a lot to all of us who worked on this story to have it be read and hopefully enjoyed. And if you did enjoy our work, we hope you will stick with us and enjoy what else we have in store for Requiem. We have a sequel in the works and hope you will look forward to it. In the meantime we do plan on producing more content, consisting of both canon and non-canon shorts as well as commentary on our characters, chapters, and removed content. We once again thank you with the utmost sincerity for reading our story, and we can not wait to give you more.))


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